OF vs.

FROM Grammar
OF
• ‘Of’ for possession:

To denote possession, the apostrophe followed by s ('s), (for example: Tom's),

is used for living things or groups and institutions.
o Tom's house.
o The dog's tail.
o The government's policy.

‘Of’ is used when referring to inanimate objects, to mean that something

belongs to something else.
o The roof of the car.
o The title of the book.
o The name of the game.

• 'Of' is used in certain expressions such as :

It is nice (good /kind /generous /silly /stupid etc.) of (somebody) to do
(something).
- It was nice of you to invite me.
- It was generous of Cam to pay for lunch.
- It was silly of Joe to leave the window open.

• ‘Of’ is used after adjectives :

There is no real pattern – you need to learn them as you meet them. Here are
some examples, but please remember that this is not a complete list:
- He/she is afraid of sharks
- She was ashamed of herself
- We aware / unaware of
- capable of
- I’m very fond of Virginia.
- I’m proud of my wife.
- I’m sure/certain of
- We’re tired of the tax burden

• 'Of’ is used after certain verbs:

Again, this is not a complete list, but here are some examples :
- accuse (somebody) of something
- complain of
- dream of
- hear of
- remind (somebody) of someone/something
- think of
 FROM
• ‘From’ is used to refer to origins:
'From' is used to indicate that something originates or comes from something else
or some person. For example,
- Henry comes from England
- The passage is from a poem written by Shakespeare.
Where are you from? Which country were you born in?
I am from Norway. I was born in Norway.
a train from London = a train which started its journey in London
(as opposed to a train to London a train which is going to London as its
destination)

• the starting point, in either space or time:

from Paris to Berlin starting in Paris and ending in Berlin
from Monday to Friday starting on Monday and ending on Friday
from November 1st until December 6th starting on November 1st and ending on
December 6th

- I work from 9 to 5 every day.

- We will be in London next week from Tuesday until Friday.
• Cause:
She died from a heart attack. She died due to, because of a heart attack.
Bruno suffers from a strange disease. Bruno has a strange disease.
I'm still a little sick from all the wine I drank yesterday. = I'm still slightly drunk
due to all the champagne I drank yesterday.
He still has a scar from his car accident years ago. He still has a scar caused by his
car accident years ago.

• Reference:
From what I read in the news, he's dead. Based on what I read in the news, he's no
longer alive.
From her point of view, I’m the bad guy! According to her, I am not a good person.

• Some nice idioms:

from time to time: every now and again, occasionally, sometimes
from now on: starting this moment and continuing into the future
to stop (somebody) from (doing something) to make sure that someone does not do
something
• ‘From’ is used after certain verbs :
This is not a complete list, but here are some examples :
o borrow from
o disappear from
o discourage from
o prevent from
o protect from
o come from
o come from behind
o keep from
o walk away from
o shy away from

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**DIFFICULT ONE!!!

Made of is used when the material the subject consists of doesn't change during the process of
making the subject.

Chairs are made of wood. (Here, wood is still wood. It doesn't transform into something
else.)

made of = visible
made from = invisible (reconstituted)
made with = ingredients more than 1 (mixture)
made out of = just one ingredient


On the other hand, made from is used when the material changed its nature.
Paper is made from wood. (Now, wood disappeared — it was transformed into paper.)

Some more examples:
• The house is made of bricks. [They are still bricks.]
• My shirt is made of cotton. [It’s still cotton.]

• Wine is made from grapes. [Grapes turn into wine.]
• A piece of paper is from a tree. [Part of a tree is turned into a piece of paper.]


My shirt is made OF cotton. 319 million hits on google
My shirt is made FROM cotton. 287 million hits on google
My shirt is made WITH cotton. 272 million hits on google
My shirt is made OUT OF cotton. 280 million hits on google


Died of vs. Died from = same basically