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from means at?

topic posted Tue, April 6, 2004 - 5:55 PM by 
Hey how come when people work at home they say they work From home? Doesn't "from" imply that they've left?

I work At home. If i left the house to do my job then i'd be working from home.
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  • 12th...
    12thVarmint
    offline 12

    Re: from means at?

    Wed, April 7, 2004 - 12:19 AM
    The implication when one works 'from' home is that of telecommuting. These days people tend to draw a line of differentiation between those who work at home (i.e. they are totally self-contained) and those who work from home (virtual office workers). It's a little bit odd prepositionally, but at least there is a logical basis behind it.
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    • Re: from means at?

      Wed, April 7, 2004 - 8:13 AM
      No the implication is pretty univeral. I just found a MLM recruiting ad here on Tribe which clearly says "from'home and MLM ain't no telecommuting!

      Logic does not imply correctness.
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      • 12th...
        12thVarmint
        offline 12

        Re: from means at?

        Wed, April 7, 2004 - 11:14 AM
        You make a good point. I should have also acknowledged that as sheep often do, the ignorant masses have found plenty of ways to misuse what would otherwise have been (and for a short time was) a good and descriptive use of a preposition.

        However, I'm sorry, the implication is far from universal. The mere fact that two of us are discussing its incorrect use denies its univerality. Logic does not, as you say, imply correctness, however, it does a great job on the opposite end. heh...
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      • StFiend
        StFiend
        offline 18

        Re: from means at?

        Wed, April 7, 2004 - 11:18 AM
        *nod* It's a common pattern. A phrase that once made sense got applied somewhere it didn't belong, and it stuck. The average person will just use the phrases they've heard, never bothering to deconstruct them and make sure they're doing what they're supposed to.

        The words themselves get analyzed even more rarely. I mean, we say "depend on" instead of "depend from", even though the original meaning is "to hang"...
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        • Re: from means at?

          Wed, April 7, 2004 - 1:32 PM
          But you Can "hang on" and also "hang from"

          in telecommuting you can Send work from home but you Cannot Do work from home.er, that isn't quite correct either...br from home working..

          well lets take it to the expert. according to Lewis Carroll
          "mome" meaning "from home" meaning" "that they'd lost their way"

          and i continue outgribing.......
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        • Starchy
          Starchy
          online 103

          Re: from means at?

          Wed, April 7, 2004 - 11:01 PM
          I was thinking about this a bit earlier tonight in regards to the carrot and stick metaphor. I've noticed the "positive vs. negative reinforcement" misinterpretation of it popping up increasingly these days. It makes my brain weep.
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          • Ogle...
            Oglethorpe
            offline 10

            Re: from means at?

            Tue, May 18, 2004 - 9:26 PM
            Are you being metaphorical, or are you using the sense of 'weep' meaning 'to ooze fluid slowly'? Either works, I ask merely for clarification.
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  • Deborah
    Deborah
    online 20

    Re: from means at?

    Tue, May 18, 2004 - 11:25 PM
    Working *at* home is something a stay-at-home Mom/housewife/domestic goddess/whatever you want to call 'em does. Housework, made a little more respect-worthy, since some people don't get how much "work" is involved with that.

    Working *from* home is what someone who conducts business from within the home does. Which could range from telecommuting, to having a cottage industry or a home office from which one does freelance work, to envelope-stuffing.

    In my understanding of the terms, at least.
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    • Re: from means at?

      Wed, May 19, 2004 - 7:29 AM
      No i'm sorry but "from" implies "having left".I don't give a damn about modern vernacular.

      i am not a housewife. I work At home except when i am working Out of the house at which point i am working From home.
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      • Deborah
        Deborah
        online 20

        Re: from means at?

        Thu, October 14, 2004 - 9:06 PM
        I say that I'm from Vancouver when I am *in* Vancouver. Is that modern vernacular?

        Working from home is implying that the work being done is work of a nature normally conducted in a workplace. Your home may well be your workplace, but for the majority of people there is a separation. You could say instead that you work out of your house; or you could resign yourself to always having to explain yourself to people. Which could become tiresome.
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        • Re: from means at?

          Thu, October 14, 2004 - 9:16 PM
          No. I Work AT Home. I am at home, i am at work. There has been no travel, no "from" to Be from. There is only At.

          I know what the term "implies". Its still incorrect English. Or American. Or Canadian.

          Me, i talk American.
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