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A child put a ladder on a stool to get into a play house (see the picture in the link) because the ladder is not tall enough.

The stool is not on or in but under the ladder.

You want to remove the stool.

Would you say "to take the stool out of/off the ladder"?

enter image description here

3 Answers 3

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I'd say I'd take the stool out from under the ladder.

Here is an example sentence which is a slightly different situation, but still:

The victim was non-responsive, so the farmer pulled him out from under the ladder and called to two workers in the farm yard.

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  • I would say 'take it out from under the ladder'. Including the 'out' is more idiomatic to my ears (native English speaker from UK.)
    – Jelila
    Commented May 5, 2020 at 11:17
  • @Jelila yeah, it sounds better with out, I agree.
    – Glorfindel
    Commented May 5, 2020 at 11:19
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    I'd just say 'take the ladder off the stool'. Commented May 5, 2020 at 11:38
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In most common verbal usage, you'd chain some prepositions together:

Spoken American English: "Take the stool out from under the ladder."

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    Why "out"? The stool is not inside anything?, What about "Take the stool away from under the ladder."?
    – Tom
    Commented May 5, 2020 at 9:29
  • See Glorfindel's answer as well - uses the "out" expression too. It may be an American thing.
    – kaipmdh
    Commented May 5, 2020 at 10:00
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    It's in the space between the ladder and the floor. Commented May 5, 2020 at 10:43
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    In UK English, including the 'out' is more idiomatic.
    – Jelila
    Commented May 5, 2020 at 11:18
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As the stool is under the ladder, I would say:

to take the stool from beneath the ladder

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