Particles から and まで

Last time, you learned what function the particle で has and how to use them. The better you understand Japanese particles, the variety in your expressions can increase. Here, you will learn the particles から and まで.

Explanation for How the Particles から and まで Work

Since まで is often used together with から, you will come to understand the usage by learning the particle から. Let’s go over them one by one.

Table of Contents [Four Functions of the Particle から] [Summary]

Four Functions of the Particle から

Starting Point: から and Ending Point: まで

[私わたしは / が]	家いえから	駅えきまで	歩あるく / 歩あるきます
[Topic / Subject]	Starting Point	Ending Point	Verb
[I will] walk from my house to the station.

The first function is that から expresses starting points and まで expresses ending points. This usage is applicable not only for locations, but also time, and order as well. Here are more examples.

朝あさから夜よるまで（働はたらく / 働はたらきます）。
[I will] work from morning to night.

朝あさ５ご時じから夜よる９く時じまで（寝ねる / 寝ねます）。
[I will] sleep from 5:00am to 9:00pm.

１番いちばんから３番さんばんまで（歌うたう / 歌うたいます）。
[I will] sing from the first verse to the third verse.

The particles から and まで don’t always have to be used together.

今いまから（起おきる / 起おきます）。
[I will] get up now.

学校がっこうは家いえから遠とおい（です）。
The school is far from my house.

昼ひるまで（寝ねる / 寝ねます）。
[I will] sleep until daytime.

駅えきまで（走はしる / 走はしります）。
[I will] run up to the station.

Advanced Topic: から (Starting Point) VS. を (Location to Leave)

東とう京きょうを・から出発しゅっぱつ（する / します）。
[I will] depart from Tokyo.

仕し事ごとを・から（やめる / やめます）。
[I will] quit my job.

煙けむりが窓まどを・から（出でる / 出でます）。
Smoke will go out from the window.

When you express actual places to leave, you can use either the particle を or から (Ex 1). However, you cannot use から when you express organizations to leave (Ex. 2) and you cannot use を when subjects are inanimate (Ex. 3).

Advanced Topic: まで (Ending Point) VS. に or へ (Destination)

駅えきに・へ・まで行いく。

When you use motion verbs like “行く: to go,” “来る: to come,” and “着く: to arrive,” you can use any of に, へ, and まで. Please keep in mind that に and へ imply that places you mention are the final destination while まで implies part of the destination. Therefore, with the example above, if you meet up with someone at the station, に and へ are more suitable. If you take a train and go to somewhere else, まで is more suitable.

南なん極きょくに・へ・まで行いく。
[I will] go to the South Pole.

With this example, the South Pole can hardly be part of the destination, so に and へ are more suitable.

駅えきに・へ・まで走はしる。

One important usage here is that when you use action verbs like “歩く: to walk,” “走る: to run,” and “泳ぐ: to swim,” you have to use まで.

Source

[私わたしは / が]	お母かあさんから	話はなしを	聞きく / 聞ききます
[Topic / Subject]	Source	Direct Object	Verb
[I will] hear the story from my mother.

The second function is to express sources. In this context, から is interchangeable with the particle に. Regarding the sentence order, から can be placed anywhere before the verb. Here are more examples.

先生せんせいから・に本ほんを（もらう / もらいます）。
[I will] receive a book from my teacher.

お金かねを友達ともだちから・に（借かりる / 借かります）。
[I will] borrow money from my friend.

Raw Material

[私わたしは / が]	米こめから	酒さけを	作つくる / 作つくります
[Topic / Subject]	Raw Material	Direct Object	Verb
[I will] make alcohol from rice.

The third function is to express raw materials. You may wonder what the difference is between using the particle で (materials) and から. Just like the difference between “A is made of B” and “A is made from B,” から is more suitable when you cannot visually judge what materials are used to make products.

ブドウからワインを（作つくる / 作つくります）。
[I will] make wine from grapes.

牛乳ぎゅうにゅうからバターを（作つくる / 作つくります）。
[I will] make butter from milk.

State Before Change

信号しんごうが	赤あかから	青あおに	変かわる / 変かわります
Subject	State Before Change	Target	Verb
The traffic lights will change from red to blue. *In Japan, the colors of traffic lights are blue, yellow and red.

The fourth function is to express states before changes. Targets of changes are expressed by the particle に.

学生がくせいから先生せんせいに（なる / なります）。
[I will] become a teacher from a student.

季き節せつが春はるから夏なつに（変かわる / 変かわります）。
The season will change from spring to summer.

Summary

The particle から can express:
- Starting Point (while まで can express Ending Point)
- Source
- Raw Material
- State Before Change

The functions are similar to the word “from” in English. However, they are of course not the same. Please learn Japanese grammar as it is. For the sake of simplicity, we have given examples where the number of subjects or objects is kept to one. What if there are more than one? We will learn parallel markers next.