"If you like to watch japanese movies or anime, I think you can learn some Japanese (from/by/with) them." What do I have to use in this sentence? Is all of them correct? Or does it have a different meaning depends on what preposion I use?
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The correct preposition is from.– KhanCommented Jan 1, 2018 at 17:04
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2 Answers
"To learn from" is a standard idiom (or perhaps a phrasal verb) that means "to be taught by." Consequently, "from" is the correct preposition.
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While it's certainly true that "from" is the only correct preposition here, I'm not convinced that it's because "learn from" is a phrasal verb. Commented Jan 1, 2018 at 18:08
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@NT upon reflection, I am not sure either so I am editing my answer. Thank you. Commented Jan 1, 2018 at 18:33
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I don't think it's an idiom, either. "Idiom" implies that the meaning of the entire phrase can't be built up from the meaning of the individual words. "From" indicates source, and "Japanese movies" is the source of learning Japanese, so the meaning is reasonably transparent. Commented Jan 2, 2018 at 17:05
The preposition "by" has different meanings depending on whether its object is an action or a thing. For actions, it indicates means, while for nouns it indicates close proximity. With the current wording, the object is "Japanese movies", which is a thing, so "from" is the best choice. You can also say "I think you can learn some Japanese ____ watching Japanese movies." Here, the object is an action, so both "from" and "by" work, with slightly different meanings.
Also, in English, adjectives that are based on proper nouns, such as "Japanese", are capitalized.
