Which is correct:
A cellphone is made of a variety of materials.
A cellphone is made from a variety of materials.
Wine is made from grapes. / The chair is made of wood. If it is in the situation of making cellphones, which is correct?
Asked
Active
Viewed 29 times
0
Carol
- 53
- 7
-
Also, I would use "Cell phones are" rather than "A cell phone is", because this applies to all cell phones (there is no possible cell phone that is made of just one input material). – SoronelHaetir Aug 22 '22 at 15:57
-
You may find some guidance here: Why is wine made "from" grapes while a table is made "of" wood? – WS2 Aug 22 '22 at 22:41
1 Answers
1
You should use (1), 'made of', although many people will not notice if you use (2). A cell phone is made of 40 percent metals, 40 percent plastics and 20 percent ceramics and trace materials.
Strictly, we use 'made of' to talk about the materials of which a finished article is made, so my desk is made of wood, and my sister's wedding ring is made of gold. Consider 'made of' to mean 'composed of'.
We use 'made from' to talk about something that has been transformed from one form to another: I have a candle holder made from an old wine bottle, and my kids are playing in a tent made from bed sheets.
Michael Harvey
- 71,537
- 5
- 105
- 149
-
Wasn't the cellphone transformed from a variety of materials into its current form? – MarcInManhattan Aug 23 '22 at 00:15