This shirt is made out of the cotton vs is made of the cotton

Question

Would you explain about between out of and of ?Are they the difference between a of each numbers and b ?I think all of them same meaning, right?Please advise me.Example as#1 -a . I looks out of the window.  1- b . I looks out the window.#2-a. This shirt is made out of the cotton.   2-b    This shirt is made of the cotton.#3-a The spoon is made of gold   3-b The spoon is made out of gold.#4-a He picks a bottle of a wine cellar.  4-b He picks a bottle out of a wine cellar.---------------------------------one more thing.Is 2-c same with 2-a,2-b? or  Is 2-c right expression and grammatical?IF not, Please explain about it.#2-c. This shirt is made by the cotton.    2-a. This shirt is made out of the cotton.   2-b    This shirt is made of the cotton.

Doctor D · Accepted Answer

Here are the correct sentences:
1. I look out the window.
(You are looking through the window.)
Here is a sentence, however, where either "of" or "out of" are acceptable:
He is leaning out the window (or) He is leaning out of the window. (He is in the window and leaning forward).

2. This shirt is made of cotton.
(The material of the shirt is cotton). Not the cotton. Unless you say, The cotton of the shirt is soft.
Yes, you can say "The shirt is made out of cotton." But the more common phrase is simply "of."

3. The spoon is made of gold.
(The material of the shirt is gold). Yes, you can say "The spoon is made out of gold." But the more common phrase is simply "of."

4. He picks a bottle out of a (the) wine cellar. OR: He picks a bottle from the wine cellar.
(He takes a bottle that was in the wine cellar and removes it.) You cannot say "he picks a bottle of a wine cellar" (That suggests the bottle is composed of a wine cellar.)

So, in these cases, I would say that in the shirt sentence and the spoon sentence, you may use either "of" or "out of" (meaning "made of" or "composed of"). The meaning is the same.
In the window sentence, you cannot use "out of" and "out" to mean the same thing. They mean different things here.
In the bottle sentence, "out of" makes sense and "of" is nonsense.

In your last three variations, "the cotton" is the wrong form. You can say "of cotton" or "out of cotton." However, you cannot say "by cotton," because that suggests that cotton is somehow making the shirt (people make the shirt, not material).

"Of" has many different usages. My dictionary lists about a dozen of them. Unfortunately, you will need to practice to learn them. "Out of" likewise has a number of meanings (only not as many, four or five are common).

I hope this helps.

Ljswave · Answer

Hello Mr.Doctor D.
I'm Eric. My Korean Name is Jun Su Lee.
Thank you for your clear ,polite answer.
I'm happy to get your explanation because It always gets across well to me.
I appreciate you again.

Doctor D · Answer

For your added questions:

sorry to ask you again.
I'd really like to get your explanation about these.

What is the difference of meaning among them?
My question is for nuances among of / about / a transitive verb.

# know about objective / know of objective / know

my example is not proper to explain.
You should show me another example.

eg
#1. I Know about the vegitable.
#2. I Know of the vegitable.
#3. I Know the vegitable.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#1. I ate of potato. vs I ate potato.
Q. What is the difference of nuance? same? or Is #1 out(=wrong)?

This may not work in all cases. However, here is one way to distinguish know, know about, and know of.

Know--is usually direct and complete knowledge of something or someone.
I know algebra, so I can easily solve this math problem.
I know Jack, and he is a fool.

Know about--is less complete knowledge. You know some facts about the subject.

I know a little about elephants. They eat grass and are big.
I know about Mary. She's a gossip.

Know of--is minimal knowledge. You have heard about the subject, but may not have direct personal knowledge.
Elvis is someone I know of but have never actually seen or listened to.

Does this help?

Ljswave · Answer

Doctor D#1. I ate of potato. vs I ate potato.
Q. What is the difference of nuance? same? or Is #1 out(=wrong)?

Thank you.a lot. Mr.Doctor D
I read your explanation about "know about/ of him and know him"
It is different than my knowledge about it. I'm gonna add my rest of them by another question.
The reason I write down is for question about thing above that" ate of potato vs ate potato."
Advise me.

Doctor D · Answer

The potato sentences:

I ate of potato.

No. You have to eat something in particular. In this case, the verb (to eat) is transitive and requires a direct object.
I ate part of the potato. I ate none of the potato. I ate a few bites of the potato.

I ate potato.

Not quite right. Normally, you would say:
I ate a potato. (any old potato).
Or
I at the potato. (the potato you were saving for later).

I hope this helps.

This shirt is made out of the cotton vs is made of the cotton

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