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Made of/with/from

JD (Paris)

February 6

Not sure which of these are correct: "My shoes are made from leather" "My shoes are made of leather" "My shoes are made with leather" "Cider is made from apples" "Cider is made of apples" "Cider is made with apples" "The cocktail is made from vodka" "The cocktail is made of vodka" "The cocktail is made with vodka" Is there a rule to decide when to use each? Thank you for your explanations.

View our courses: English

Answers (5)

Connor Morrison
English teacher

March 3

Usually if you are referring to clothing, you say 'made of' (my shoes are made of leather) if it is the main material of the object (hence "coat of wool", "gown of silk", etc.). Using 'made of' usually also implies that the material is still recognisable ("chair made of bamboo").

If the object is a substance (eg. cider) with the primary ingredient being fermented apple juice, you would say 'made from' - "cider is made from apples". Another example is: "vodka is made from potatoes". Generally, when using 'made from' it describes a process.

You would say 'made with' for the cocktail example, because while someone may consider the main feature of the cocktail to be alcohol, it's not really its primary substance, it's just an ingredient - which means "the cocktail is made with vodka" is correct.

Also, there are differences between "made out of" and "made up of".

Again, "made out of" implies a process: "the box was made out of wood" whereas "made up of" just refers to parts of a whole (a synonym would be "includes"). Hope this helps! - Native speaker from Australia

Larisa Ab
Singing teacher

March 25

Casually, there is not much of a difference. Most English speakers will understand what you mean.

Grammatically, or if you are speaking to an expert in manufacturing, "made of" means we can still see the original material in the object. For example, "The ring is made of gold" is correct because we can clearly see the gold material, and can return it back to its original form. Same with plastic, wool, etc.

"Made from" means the material used to make the product has gone through a significant change and cannot be returned back to its original state. For example, "The cheese is made from milk" is correct because we no longer see the milk in the finished cheese product.

"Made with" means that the product is comprised of individual ingredients. For example, "The smoothie is made with bananas and cinnamon."

For your examples using Apples, Vodka, and Leather, the following answers are grammatically correct:

Cider is made from apples. (Because we can no longer see the apples, and we cannot return the cider back into apples.)

The cocktail is made with vodka. (Because a cocktail is a drink that changes depending on its ingredients. Vodka is one individual ingredient that was used for this specific cocktail.)

My shoes are made of leather. (Because we can still see the material, and the leather pieces can be disassembled back into scraps and used to make another product.)

Hope that helps!

Marcio Silva
English teacher

June 2

Made of = the original material is still recognizable

Use made of when you can still see or identify the original material in the finished product.

My shoes are made of leather.

When you look at the shoes, you can still tell that the material is leather.

Made from = the original material has been transformed

Use made from when the original material undergoes a significant change and is no longer recognizable.

Cider is made from apples.

You cannot look at cider and see apples inside it. The apples have been transformed.

Made with = an ingredient or component is used

Use made with when you're talking about ingredients or components used in making something.

This cake is made with butter.

The focus is on what was used to prepare it.

Reference Nwitte-Eze
English teacher

June 9

Made of,” “made from,” and “made with” are all correct, but they are used in different situations. “Made of” is used when the original material is still recognizable. For example, “My shoes are made of leather” because you can still tell that leather is the material. “Made from” is used when the original material has been changed into something different. For example, “Cider is made from apples” because the apples are transformed during the process. “Made with” is used to mention ingredients or components used in making something. For example, “The cocktail is made with vodka” because vodka is one of the ingredients. Therefore, the most natural sentences are: “My shoes are made of leather,” “Cider is made from apples,” and “The cocktail is made with vodka.

James Filerman
English teacher

July 1

Technical. I would only explain one use as used in the discourse....no all three uses

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