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'. :o

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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English as a Second Language
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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
You can read my EFL story Progressive Forms

[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

[Sdianas]

I wouldn't equate "live on" with "live off." "Live on" is a correct English expression, used by educated people of other educated people. "Live off" is a vulgar form used by the uneducated, except in a few specific expressions like "live off the land."

"Live on" implies that both the speaker and the source of income are respectable. "Live off," if used by educated people at all, is a pejorative expression that implies that the source of income is somewhat illegitimate. People "live off" their relatives if they are mooching on them; they "live on" their salaries.