of vs from
Since of and From are two words that are used with difference, we should understand this difference between of and from clearly if we are to use either when using English language. It is important to know that both these words are prepositions used with difference. If we look at the origin of the two words of and from we can see that they both come from Old English. Since these two prepositions are very much used in English language, one can see a number of phrases that employ these two prepositions. For example, be of, of all, as from, from day to day, etc.
What does Of mean?
The preposition of is used in the genitive or the possessive case. Look at the following examples to understand the use of the word of.
The people of this country are very generous.
The girls of Sandy Cottage came to visit us yesterday.
In the first sentence as well as in the second sentence given above, the preposition of is used in the genitive or the possessive case.
The use of the word of indicates possession as in the example given below.
This is the book of Fredrick.
In the above sentence, the use of the word of indicates possession.
On the other hand, the preposition of is often replaced by an apostrophe as in the sentences given below.
Fredrick’s home is far off.
John’s book is lost.
In both the sentences given above, the preposition of is replaced by an apostrophe.
What does From mean?
On the other hand, the preposition from is used in the ablative case. Look at following sentences where preposition from is used.
Fruits fall from the tree.
They came from far away.
Here also in both the first and second sentences, the preposition from is used in the ablative case. The use of the word from denotes distance as in the example given below.
He came from Japan.
The use of the word from in the sentence given above indicates distance.
The preposition from is often followed by another preposition ‘to’ in sentences such as,
I traveled from London to New York.
I went to my home from the temple.
In both the sentences given above, the word from is followed by the preposition to.
The preposition from is used when you want to describe the movement of a person or an object from one place to another.
What is the difference between Of and From?
• The preposition of is used in the genitive or the possessive case. On the other hand, the preposition from is used in the ablative case. This is the main difference between the usages of the prepositions of and from.
• The use of the word of indicates possession whereas the use of the word from denotes distance. This is another important difference between the two prepositions of and from.
• The preposition from is often followed by another preposition ‘to’.
• On the other hand, the preposition of is often replaced by an apostrophe.
• The preposition from is used when you want to describe the movement of a person or an object from one place to another.