With vs From

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toloue_man

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Of the following sentences, which one is correct?

I took Linguitics with Mr.Smith
I took Linguitics from Mr.Smith
 

bhaisahab

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Of the following sentences, which one is correct?

I took Linguitics with Mr.Smith
I took Linguitics from Mr.Smith

"I took Linguistics with Mr.Smith."
 

SoothingDave

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I think they have two different meaning. "With" means he was a fellow student. "From" means he was the teacher.
 

5jj

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In British English, '... with Mr Smith' could mean a teacher or a student; context would usually make the meaning clear. '... from Mr Smith' is unnatural.
 

toloue_man

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There are different answers so I'm in doubt which the right answer is.
 

5jj

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There are different answers so I'm in doubt which the right answer is.
SoothingDave is a speaker of American English; I am a speaker of British English. There are areas of usage in which the two varieties differ; this is one of them. If the variety you are learning is BrE, stick with my answer; if it's AmE, stick with Dave's.

In any case, context will normally make the difference clear, even if you choose a preposition that sounds a little strange to your listener. If you are worried about this, change the structure: 'Mr Smith taught me French'; 'Charlie Smith was in my French class at college'.
 
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