From tells you where something started or came from. When you travel from New York to Boston, New York is your starting point. When you receive a letter from your grandmother, she's the one who sent it. When you make orange juice from fresh oranges, the oranges are what you started with.

The word marks beginnings and origins in all sorts of situations. A scientist might extract medicine from tree bark. You might hear a strange noise from the basement. When someone says “I'm from Ohio,” they're telling you where they grew up or where their home is.

From also marks when something begins in time: school runs from September to June. A movie showing from 7:00 to 9:00 starts at 7:00. You might study history from ancient Rome to modern times.

The word can show what caused something or what something is made of. You might be tired from staying up late, or you might build a fort from cardboard boxes. When you separate things, you distinguish one from another. If you can't tell twins apart, you can't tell one from the other.

Though from is a small word, it does important work: it connects ideas by showing where they began, what they're made of, or what caused them.