Live on = Live off?

[Haihao]

Hi,

It was quite mysterious for me when I found out that 'Live on = Live off' and 'fill in = fill out' for the first time. If I looked on them as math problems, I would say:

Since 'Live on = Live off' and 'fill in = fill out',
Then 'on = off' and 'in = out'.

But now I understand those equations are ridiculous. My problem now is:

Are 'live on' and 'live off' 100% interchangeable? Even if so, what is the consciousness difference of the speaker or user?

haihao

[Alan]

Hi,

There is a slight difference in the meaning between the two. Live on suggests that the object is the main source of income or sustenance as in: They now live on their pensions - that is the money they use in order to live. Live off suggests that the object is either unusual or perhaps limited as in: They live off the land -all the things that grow on their land or They live off handouts and charity - money provided by social security or from charitable organisations.

A
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[Haihao]

Thank you again, sir, and I guess I am made very clear now. Just out of curiosity and my 'desire' to link every preposition or adverb to its derivation to improve my 'core image' for the word, I would like to know that in this case, if I can look on the 'on' as a sense of relying on and the 'off' consuming off.

haihao

[Alan]

Hi Haihao,

That's an interesting interpretation. I think that the basic difference is the idea of 'off' can suggest 'from' in the sense of 'removing from'. I would point out that it's a very unreliable science to try to explain why a particular preposition is used in phrasal verbs. My only advice (and I realise that it's hard work) is to remember any new phrasal verb you come across within a phrase or sentence rather than in isolation.

A
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English as a Foreign Language
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[Haihao]

Hi Alan,

Your comment and advice made me feel a kind of rest assured with a guideline in dealing with phrasal verbs or idioms. I realized that sometimes I really went too far trying to 'make out' some isolated 'sense', which could become an unbalance. Thank you for your guiding.

haihao