THE PREPOSITION “OT”

The preposition “ot” also indicates the starting point of a movement. As already noted, it is used when the starting point of the movement is a point, a line, or a surface of an object.

The preposition “ot” is also used when referring to leaving an event or leaving an area that in some way belongs to other people:

to leave the street — ujti ot ulica
to return from a meeting — vernutjsja ot sobranije
to leave the doctor’s — idti ot vrač
to come from a friend’s place — prijehatj ot drug

Strictly speaking, the preposition “ot” indicates a spatial or temporal point from which the subject moves away or from which the subject is located at some distance.

to move away from the house — Otidti ot dom
to sail away from the shore — Otplǐtj ot eto bjerjeg
to drive away from the station — Ot’jehatj ot eto stacija
to stand three steps away from me — stojatj v tri šagi ot mjenje
at a short distance from a group of pedestrians — blizko ot grupa iz njeskoljko pješehodǐ
far from the finish line — Daljeko ot finish
the first data have been obtained from the beginning of the experiment — pjervǐj danǐ ot experiment-načalsja polučjen
the meeting has been continuing since ten o’clock — Zasjedanije prodolžatsja ot čas-djesjatj

The preposition “ot” can also indicate an object from which something is detached, that is, something moves away from it:

to tear a button off a coat — ototvatj pugovica ot paletot
to break off a piece from a loaf of bread — otlomitj kusok ot hljeb

The concept of separation, in turn, is connected with the concepts of distinction and opposition:

to distinguish good from evil, the bad from the good — otličitj dobro ot zlo, plohoi ot horošij
to distinguish essential features from secondary ones, the main points from the insignificant ones — otdelitj važnǐj kačestvǐ ot neznačiteljnǐj, glavnǐj ot nevažnǐj

The idea of moving away can also be associated with the ideas of escaping and protecting oneself:

to protect oneself from the enemy, to hide from the enemy — zašititjsja, sprjatatjsja ot vrag

The idea of moving away from something can also be associated with the idea of getting rid of or freeing oneself from it:

to get rid of bad specialists — izbavitjsja ot plohoj specialistǐ
to get rid of mistakes — izbavitjsja ot ošǐbki
to clean something of dirt — očistitj ot grjazj
to get rid of a strange feeling — izbavitjsja ot strannǐj čuvstvo
to come to one’s senses from a state of daydreaming — očnutjsja ot zadumčivostj
to get rid of drowsiness and apathy — Izbavitjsja ot apathia

If something “separates” from an object, we can say that something emanates or originates from that object. Therefore, the preposition “ot” also indicates the source of information, an action, material things, a certain state, etc.

to learn the news from a friend — Uznatj novostj ot drug
moisture comes from the earth — Ot zemlja idti vlaga
a son from a first marriage — Sǐn ot pervǐj brak
to suffer insults from someone — terpetj obidǐ ot kogo-to
to adopt one’s father’s manner of speaking and doing things — Usvoitj ot otec jevo sposob govoritj, delatj čto-to

Since the preposition “ot” indicates the agent or source of an action, it is used in passive constructions:

This work was done by my brother. — Eto rabota sdelan ot moj brat
The notebooks were checked by the teacher. — Tjetradi bǐl proveren ot učitelj
The room was lit by two lamps. — Komnata bǐl osvjetjen ot dva lampǐ
The article was translated by me yesterday. — Statj’ja bǐl perjevedjen ot mjenje včjera

Other meanings of the preposition “ot”

• It indicates the date associated with a document:

  an order dated December 6 — Prikaz ot december-šestj
  a letter dated September 5 — Pisjmo ot september-pjatj

• It indicates the person or group of people whom someone represents:

  to speak on behalf of the university students — Govoritj ot studentǐ u eto universitet
  a representative of the workers — Deputat ot rabočij-homǐ
  representatives of democratic parties — Predstaviteli ot partii-za-demokratija

Causal relations

Russian constructions with the preposition “от” expressing causal relations are most often translated into LPQR without the preposition “ot”, using “izza” instead.

Here are the examples in all three languages: