から (Starting Point / Source Marker) Japanese Grammar Lesson

から (Starting Point / Source Marker) Japanese Grammar Lesson

Grammar Type: Particle

Essential Meaning: From / Since / Out of (marks a spatial or temporal starting point or a source)

Construction:

Starting Point / Source + から
- E.g. 6時じから [From 6 o’clock]
- E.g. 駅えきから [From the station]
- E.g. 米こめから [From / Out of rice]
- E.g. ボブから [From Bob]

Notes:

から (Starting point / Source marker) is a particle that marks a temporal starting point (e.g. “From 6 PM“), a spatial starting point (e.g. “From America“), or a source (e.g. “Sake is made out of rice“).

When から (Starting point / Source marker) marks a source, that source may be a person (e.g. “From Mark“), a material (e.g. “Out of sake“), or a cause / reason (e.g. “The fight started from a minor quarrel“).

Example Sentences:

パーティーは八時はちじから始はじまる。[The party starts from 8 o’clock.]

今日きょうの授業じゅぎょうは一時いちじから三時さんじまでです。[Today’s lesson is from 1 o’clock to 3 o’clock.]

このバスはニューヨークから来きた。[This bus came from New York.]

ここから富士山ふじさんが見みえるよ。[You can see Mt. Fuji from here.]

そのタイプライターは誰だれから借かりたんですか。[From whom did you borrow that typewriter?]

酒さけは米こめから作つくる。[Sake is made from rice.]

つまらないことからけんかになった。[The fight started from a minor incident.]

WILD Examples:

Listen to this line at 2:45: Neck痛いたい, Leg 痛いたい, Head 痛いたい, 一昨日おとといから肩かた痛いたい目めも痛いたい, Dry Eye [My neck hurts, my legs hurt, my head hurts….Since last week my shoulder hurts, and even my eyes hurt from dryness]

Listen for this line at 2:51: 君きみは僕ぼくから諦あきらめ方かたを奪うばい取とったの [You took from me the way of giving up] This is an example of から as a source marker.

This song begins with the following line: ポニョ、ポニョ、ポニョ、魚さかなの子こ、青あおいい海うみからやってきた [Ponyo, Ponyo, Ponyo, the little fish girl, has come from the blue sea]

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