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URL: https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/close-by.3795992/

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close by

"He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by." Why we must to spell "by" in "close by' word, English not my native language, so I am trying to learn it
Can you explain your question a bit, please, and give us the complete sentence?
"Close by" (similar to "nearby") is an adverb, indicating the "manner" in which the weirdos were standing. The sentence would still work with just "close," but we would often expect a prepositional phrase after "close," for example "to him."
Do you mean: Why is it two words, 'close by', when 'nearby' means the same thing and is one word? (I don't know the answer to that.)
"Close by" (similar to "nearby") is an adverb, indicating the "manner" in which the weirdos were standing. The sentence would still work with just "close," but we would often expect a prepositional phrase after "close," for example "to him."
Thanks for the answer.
So we can to write "close", "close by" or"close to him" and the sentence would still work, yes?
Thanks for the answer.
So we can to write "close", "close by" or"close to him" and the sentence would still work, yes?

Yes, although just "close" would be the least idiomatic of those options.
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