Of and from, are they interchangeable in some cases?

Question

i was reading this letter for IELTS and i was not sure if this was the proper usage because i thought of an alternative:

My name is Mathew Abraham and I am writing this letter regarding an important document I forgot in a taxi from your company last week

is it the same if i change the part of "from your company" with an "of your company"?

It would be like this in the end:

My name is Mathew Abraham and I am writing this letter regarding an important document I forgot in a taxi of your company last week

I get confused in these cases where it sounds to me as if either of those two options would be ok, but I'm not 100% sure if that's the case in this particular example.

Neither one. I would use "an important document I forgot in your company's taxi last week". If you need the prepositional phrase, then "an important document I forgot in a taxi belonging to/operated by your company last week" — user3169, Apr 07 '18 at 21:19

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 07 '18 at 21:59

3

Don't underestimate the power of the possessive form! I would say the following:

My name is Mathew Abraham, and I am writing this letter regarding an important document I forgot in one of your taxis last week.

Many times, using the possessive instead of "the X of Y" is more concise and more natural.

answered Apr 07 '18 at 21:59

godel9

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Yes you are right, it sounds much better. Thank you! – SoulAndBone Apr 08 '18 at 14:15

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 08 '18 at 11:45

I agree that godel9's answer is the most idiomatic, to answer your question:

"From" points to the origin of the object:

This is a statue from ancient Mesopotamia.

These are excerpts from the witness' deposition.

"Of" (generally) refers to something about or related to the object:

This is a description of ancient Mesopotamia.

These are witness accounts of the incident.

So "a taxi of your company" does not sound idiomatic to me. I prefer "a taxi from (originating at) your company."

Note that "of" can also refer to the (metaphorical or literal) composition of something, which is different from its origin. Examples:

He is a man of means.

... and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. source

You might also see idiomatic uses of "of" that seem to mean the same thing as "from", but which also imply composition:

He is a man of his time.

This might be used to describe someone whose dress, mannerisms, thoughts, prejudices, etc. are all typical of a certain time in the past -- that is, he is completely composed of those things.

Of and from, are they interchangeable in some cases?

2 Answers2