He cut an apple...

[99bottles]

This is a sentence I made up for the sake of this thread. Which preposition is correct?

He raised his hand and cut an apple off/from the tree.

 

[Tarheel]

Try:

He cut an apple off the tree.

Of course, that never happens.

 

[99bottles]

Of course, that never happens.

No one has ever cut an apple off a tree?

 

[Tarheel]

Not that I know of. Why would they? It isn't necessary to use a knife to pick apples. (You might use a knife to cut the apple itself, of course.)

 

[5jj]

No one has ever cut an apple off a tree?

I doubt it. We pick apples.

 

[Rover_KE]

When they're ripe, they fall off the tree or can be easily pulled or twisted off. Only unripe apples would need to be cut off, and nobody would have a reason to do that.

NOTE: He raised his hand He reached up

 

[jutfrank]

Different prepositions have different meanings.

Use from if you mean to say the tree is the source of the apple.
Use off if you mean to say the apple was detached.

 

[Glizdka]

I've written this short passage to try and find a context in which using "...raised his hand and cut an apple from the tree" would work. Does it?

"The 'Malum' tree was known for having particularly hard apples. It required a sharp knife, strong arm, and steady hand to cut it without cutting yourself. One day, Lisa brought a basket of these apples home, and asked her children if they wanted to give it a try. Jack raised his hand and cut an apple from the tree, with ease, to Lisa's surprise. She wanted to make a bit of fun of her children, watch them hopelessly struggle with the apples before she shows them how to do it properly, teach them a lesson, show them they can't do everything yet, yet what she managed to prove was quite the opposite."

 

[Cunning Fox]

That's a good passage. The only thing that I can't grasp is why Jack raised his hand? Did he swing the knife like a battle axe to cut the apple in half or he raised the hand to ask for the knife to cut the apple? Maybe I'm reading it wrong.

 

[Glizdka]

That's a good passage. The only thing that I can't grasp is why Jack raised his hand? Did he swing the knife like a battle axe to cut the apple in half or he raised the hand to ask for the knife to cut the apple? Maybe I'm reading it wrong.

My intention was that Jack raised his hand like a student would in class, to show he's willing to do it and ask for permission. I guess a barbarian-like swing would be better described by "He raised the knife..."

 

[99bottles]

Not that I know of. Why would they? It isn't necessary to use a knife to pick apples. (You might use a knife to cut the apple itself, of course.)

Wait, can I use cut off only when a knife is involved? Can't you cut off fruit from trees with your bare hands?

 

[5jj]

No.

 

[Glizdka]

Wait, can I use cut off only when a knife is involved? Can't you cut off fruit from trees with your bare hands?

Well, instead of a knife, you could also use scissors, shears, a machete, or a katana, but for the most part, no, you can't use your bare hands to cut something off. Maybe if you had hands like this you could, though.

 

[99bottles]

No.

Then how do I word it? Picked the apple off/from the tree? Detached the apple from/off the tree?

 

[5jj]

He picked the apple. You can add from the tree if you think the person you are talking to does't know where apples come from.

 

[99bottles]

He picked the apple. You can add from the tree if you think the person you are talking to does't know where apples come from.

What's the difference between off and from in such a sentence?

 

[Rover_KE]

Simple opposites. A light switch is either on or off.

Apples grow on trees, so when they're ripe they fall off them.

 

[Glizdka]

Simple opposites. A light switch is either on or off.

Not that simple, though. Off is one of my favorite examples of contronyms.

"The alarm went off, so I had to turn it off."

 

[SoothingDave]

Yes, your house burns down while it burns up; and your alarm goes on when it goes off.