[Grammar] ‘Out of’ VS ‘from’

[northpath]

Here are several sentences from dictionaries:
Lisa took a folder out of the safe and put it on her desk.
Take the cake out of the box and cut it into 6 pieces.
Helen took a lipstick out of her purse.
And
The policeman drew a gun from the holster.
Barbara fetched a tissue from her purse.
The man took a knife from his pocket.

So, can I say that ‘out of’ and ‘from’ are interchangeable in this context? That’s these sentences are ok:
Lisa took a folder from the safe and put it on her desk.
Take the cake from the box and cut it into 6 pieces.
Helen took a lipstick from her purse.
And
The policeman drew a gun out of the holster.
Barbara fetched a tissue out of her purse.
The man took a knife out of his pocket.

 

[emsr2d2]

In the sentences you gave, they are interchangeable.

 

[jutfrank]

They are interchangeable in that they describe the same basic events, but there are subtle differences of focus and effect.

from is basically used to identify a place of origin:

• The man took a knife from his pocket.

Here I'd say we're focusing on the knife, and where the man had been keeping it.


out of is basically used to describe a change of location, from being inside something to being outside, often with a sense of 'release'.

• The man took a knife out of his pocket.

I think here we're focusing on the sudden presence of the knife. It doesn't matter so much where he took it from. This phrasing has a more threatening effect.