Difference between OF and FROM

Are you still having trouble using the prepositions «of» and «from»? Read this quick article and learn the difference between OF and FROM.

Many English learners find it very difficult to understand the difference between of and from. The main reason for Spanish speakers is that in Castilian Spanish we usually use the same word (de) to say of or from. For example, the sentence “I’m from Spain” we translate as “Soy de España”; and in the phrase “the best of all”, the preposition of is also translated as de: “el mejor de todos”. And this happens in practically all cases. However, the prepositions of and from have different uses in English which I will explain below.

Difference between Of and From

How to use Of

To express possession

One of the most common uses of the preposition of is to express possession, as for example in the following sentences:

She’s a friend of his. (Es una amiga suya / de él.)

What’s the price of the car? (¿Cuál es el precio del coche?)

Although there are other ways to express possession, such as possessive determiners or the Saxon genitive, the use of of as a possessive is correct in many cases.

Common expressions with of

All of / Both of

Of is widely used in common expressions such as “All of” or “Both of” to refer to more than one thing or person at the same time. For example:

All of the people in the house were excited. (todas las personas)

Both of the children were having a good time. (ambos niños)

One of the most

Another common expression with the preposition Of is “One of the most”, which also works with any superlative. This phrase is used to talk about something or someone that stands out from a group. For example:

This is one of the best bands I have ever heard. (una de las mejores bandas)

He’s one of the craziest people I know. (una de las personas más locas)

How to use From

To express origin

The preposition From is usually used to talk about the origin of something or someone. For example, we say:

I am from Brazil. (Soy de Brasil.)

This word comes from Latin. (Esta palabra proviene del Latín.)

The use of From and to / From and until

Another common use of From is in combination with the prepositions to and until. In this case, from marks the beginning of an action or state, while to and until mark the end. Let’s look at some examples:

I have an English lesson from five to six in the afternoon.

John will be on holiday from Monday until/to Friday.

Understanding the difference between of and from can be complicated, especially for beginner English students. However, with practice, little by little you will notice the different uses that each preposition has and you will find it easier not to confuse them so often.

Do you have any doubts about the difference between of and from? Ask in the comments! 👇

And don’t forget to keep smiling!