von
from
Indicates a starting point, whether a place or a person. It means 'coming from' or 'starting from.'
EXAMPLE
Ich komme gerade von der Arbeit.
I'm just coming from work.
von
from / of
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Meanings
von
by
Used in a passive sentence to name the person or thing that carries out the action.
EXAMPLE
Der Brief wurde von meiner Schwester geschrieben.
The letter was written by my sister.
von
of / by
Expresses possession or belonging and is often used in colloquial speech instead of the genitive.
EXAMPLE
Das ist das Fahrrad von meinem Nachbarn.
That is my neighbor's bicycle.
von
about
Indicates a topic or content; means 'about' or 'dealing with.'
EXAMPLE
Er hat die ganze Zeit nur von seinem Urlaub erzählt.
He talked only about his vacation the whole time.
von
of
Selects one or more elements from a larger group.
EXAMPLE
Einer von uns muss die Rechnung bezahlen.
One of us has to pay the bill.
von ... bis
from ... to
Indicates the starting and ending point of a period of time or a route.
EXAMPLE
Das Museum ist von 10 bis 18 Uhr geöffnet.
The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Usage tips
Preposition with dative
The preposition 'von' always requires the dative. Regardless of the meaning of the sentence, the noun after 'von' is in the dative.
EXAMPLE
Das Geschenk ist von meiner Tante.
The gift is from my aunt.
Contraction with article
'Von' contracts with the masculine and neuter article 'dem' to form 'vom.' This short form is very common and is used in both spoken and written language.
EXAMPLE
Ich komme gerade vom Sport.
I'm just coming from sports.
Agent in the passive
In a passive sentence, 'von' + dative is used to name the person or institution that actively carries out the action. The question for this is 'Von wem?' (by whom?).
EXAMPLE
Der Kuchen wurde von meiner Mutter gebacken.
The cake was baked by my mother.
Replacement for the genitive
Especially in spoken language, 'von' + dative is often used to express possession or belonging. This construction replaces the more formal genitive, e.g. 'das Auto meines Vaters' (my father's car).
EXAMPLE
Das ist die Tasche von meiner Freundin.
That is my friend's bag.
Creator or brand
'Von' is also used to indicate the creator of a work (e.g. book, music), the designer of a product, or the brand.
EXAMPLE
Ich lese gerade einen Roman von Thomas Mann.
I'm currently reading a novel by Thomas Mann.
Talking about a topic
When 'von' indicates a topic, it is often combined with verbs such as 'sprechen' (to speak), 'reden' (to talk), 'erzählen' (to tell), 'handeln' (to be about), or 'träumen' (to dream).
EXAMPLE
Der Film handelt von einer wahren Geschichte.
The film is about a true story.
Fixed structure 'von ... bis'
The combination 'von ... bis' (from ... to) is used to define a temporal, spatial, or numerical range. 'Von' marks the starting point, and 'bis' marks the ending point.
EXAMPLE
Ich arbeite von Montag bis Freitag.
I work from Monday to Friday.
Compare with
von vs mit
with
In „eine Person von 40 Jahren“, von describes the person’s age as a characteristic. Mit 40, on the other hand, indicates the point in time or stage of life when something happens. Use von to describe the person, and mit to specify their age when an event takes place.
von
Ein Mann von 40 Jahren beginnt heute die Ausbildung.
A 40-year-old man is starting his training today.
mit
Mit 40 Jahren beginnt der Mann heute die Ausbildung.
The man is starting his training today at the age of 40.
In real life
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