English Mentors Tips
Jen’s Englsih Tip’s – Understanding the Difference Between OF and FROM in English
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Many English learners have difficulties understanding the difference between of and from in English.
This short guide to the differences between of and from in English should help you avoid English usage mistakes in the future
OF and FROM are two of the most common prepositions in English. They are used in a wide variety of situations, but are often confused. The next paragraph explains the main cause of this confusion and is followed by a step by step explanation of the use of both OF and FROM in English.
.OF
Of – Possession
Of is mainly used as a possessive. For example,
He’s a friend of mine.
The color of the house is red.
It is important to remember that it is more common to use the possessive ‘s’ or the possessive adjective in English, than to use ‘of’ – even if ‘of’ is grammatically correct. Thus, the sentences above would generally be in these forms:
He’s my friend.
The house’s color is red.
Common Phrases with ‘Of’ – All of / Both of
Of is also commonly used with ‘all’ and ‘both’ to describe a common trait that many objects share. For example,
All of the students in the class enjoy volleyball.
Both of the assignments are due at the end of the week.
Common Phrases with ‘Of’ – One of the most …
Another common phrase with of is ‘one of the + superlative form + plural noun + singular verb’. This phrase is commonly used to focus on a specific object that stands out from a group. Notice that although the plural noun is used, the singular phrase takes the singular conjugation of the verb because the subject is ‘One of the …‘. For example,
One of the most interesting things about my job is the people I meet.
One of the most difficult subjects for me is math.
FROM
From – Origins
From is generally used to express that something originates from something else, that something comes from somewhere, or some person. For example,
Jack comes from Portland.
This formula is derived from the work of Peter Smith.
This pearl comes from the South Pacific.
From – To / From – Until
From can also be used with the prepositions ‘to’ and ‘until’ to mark the beginning and ending point of time of an action or state. Generally, ‘from … to’ is used with past tenses, while ‘from … until’ is used when speaking about future actions. However, ‘from … to’ can be used in most situations. For example,
I played tennis from two until four in the afternoon yesterday.
We are meeting in Chicago from Monday until Thursday.
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