Learners often say "a cup from coffee", "the end from the movie", "get down from the bus" or "go out from the car". In many languages, one word covers from, of and out of, or a word ending does the job instead. English splits these jobs. In this episode: • From: the starting point • Of: parts, contents, belonging • Off: leaving a surface • Out of: leaving a container • A kitchen scene • Practice • Self-check questions with answers Key phrases from this episode: Where are you from? — asking about someone's hometown or country (neutral) I'm from a small town near the coast. — origin a text from Mom — the sender I got this recipe from my aunt. — the source the bus from downtown — the starting place I work from home. — the place you work from nine to five — start and end times It's ten minutes from here. — distance a cup of coffee — the contents a glass of water, a bowl of soup, a bag of chips — container plus contents a slice of bread, a piece of cake — one part the end of the movie — part of something the top of the stairs, the back of the fridge — parts of a place in the middle of the night — part of a time some of the kids, most of my friends, all of us — part of a group a friend of mine — one of my friends the color of the walls — belonging to a thing get off the bus — you stand on a bus, train or plane get off the bike — the same idea get off the couch — stop sitting and get up (casual) take your shoes off — remove them Keep your feet off the table! — don't let them touch it The cup fell off the shelf. — it dropped from a surface Wipe the crumbs off the counter. — remove them from the surface Season 2 · Real American English: the complete spoken course for learners worldwide — accent, everyday grammar, prepositions, articles, phrasal verbs, idioms, slang and real conversations at home. Listen, repeat out loud, then take the 52-question quiz. Audio voiced with AI from an original script by Dr. Rashmi R Nair.