demand of vs from

[Offroad]

Dear teachers

Does the second sentence read well?

Be careful of what they will demand of you.
Be careful of what they will demand from you.

Thank you

 

[SoothingDave]

Yes, but there can be a subtle difference in meaning.

If you owe me $10, I can demand it from you.

If I am your boss and I expect you to work overtime to finish a project, I can demand it of you.

 

[billmcd]

Dear teachers

Does the second sentence read well?

Be careful of what they will demand of you. Use for something intangible.
Be careful of what they will demand from you. For something tangible.
Thank you

b.

 

[Offroad]

Bill, if I may, I would like to extend this a bit:

The University of Cambridge publishes leaflets with tips for students. One of them says, and I quote:

''It is important to familiarise yourself with the tasks and what they demand of you, and to get accustomed to doing them.''

From the sentence itself, the definition of 'demand' and the explanations you've given me, I presume the subtle difference could be expressed as:

Demand of - the tasks are unknown and challenging, plus it's likely one will not complete all of them, some might;
Demand from - the tasks are known and probably obligatory.

Now comes the most interesting part: if the interpretation I gave above is right, I fail to the see how the second sentence I originally posted is idiomatic.

Thank you for commenting.

 

[SoothingDave]

"Tangible" and "known" don't mean the same thing. I don't know how you got "known" and "unknown" from "tangible" and "intangible."

 

[Offroad]

I may have misinterpreted it then. For me, tangible = possible to accomplish. I prefer to see those tasks as difficult but still possible.

 

[SoothingDave]

"Tangible" is something you can hold in your hands. Real, concrete. Not abstract.