[Grammar] ‘take out’ VS ‘take from’

[northpath]

Are phrases ‘take out’ and ‘take from’ exchangeable in this examples:
1. The man took a knife from his pocket.
2. Lisa took a folder out of the safe and put it on her desk.
3. Helen took a lipstick out of her purse.
4. The policemen took a gun from the holster and shot into the air.
5. Linda, please take four glasses from the cupboard.

If not, is there a rule of thumb about that case?

 

[teechar]

Are phrases ‘take out’ and ‘take from’ exchangeable in [STRIKE]this[/STRIKE] these examples?

The use of "X from Y" implies that X naturally belongs in Y, and/or it may imply that one would expect a few Xs to be found in Y. In contrast, the use of "out of" works in most such contexts.

1. The man took a knife from his pocket.

I would prefer "out of his pocket" in that sentence.

2. Lisa took a folder out of the safe and put it on her desk.

You could use either in that context, especially if the safe in question is used to keep folders among other things.

3. Helen took a lipstick out of her purse.

That's fine.

4. The policemen took a gun from the holster and shot into the air.

That doesn't work. It implies that there may have been several guns in the holster. It also doesn't say whose holster it was. Try,
The policeman pulled out his gun and fired into the air.

5. Linda, please take four glasses from the cupboard.

Either could work in that sentence.