student asking question

Can I replace "survive on" with "survive by"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

The usage is slightly different, but yes, you can. "Survive on" is used to show that someone has survived with the help of certain things (nouns like "creek water" and "berries"), and a verb is not needed here. If you were to use "survive by," you would need to use a verb before using the nouns. Ex: He survived on instant noodles and carbonated drinks. = He survived by eating instant noodles and drinking carbonated drinks.

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