Learn English – Is “using” a preposition

prepositions

Is "using" a preposition?
For example:
I fight using my sword.
or
I write using the keyboard.

Is it a preposition or it's something else?

Best Answer

"Using" is a participle, but it is an unusual participle in that "using" frequently acts like a preposition.

"I fought him using a sword" means the same as any of the following.

"I fought him with a sword." We clearly would classify ""with" as a preposition.

"Using a sword, I fought him." We would classify "using" as a participle used as an adjective modifying "I." This construction is grammatical, but not usual.

"I fought him by using a sword." We would classify "using" as a participle used as a gerund. This latter form, I suspect, has created by ellipsis the locution of "using" as a quasi-preposition. And that phrase is adverbial in function by describing how the subject fought.

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