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From is also used with certain "non-movement verbs"
in two very common phrases--be from and come
from. These two phrases are generally used to show
someone's origin. If be from or come from are
followed by a country, it is understood to be someone's
native country / country of citizenship. If be from or
come from are followed by a city, it is understood to
be someone's home town.
Nadia is from / comes
from Tunisia.
(Nadia is a native of / a citizen of Tunisia.)
Ricardo is from / comes
from
Recife, Brazil. (Ricardo is a native of /
a
citizen of Brazil; his home town is Recife.)
Where is Przemyslaw from?
(What
is Przemyslaw's native country /
country of citizenship?)
Where does Przemyslaw
come from?
(What is Przemyslaw's native country /
country
of citizenship?)
When native speakers of English use be from or
come from to refer to someone who was born in their
own country, the place after be from or come from
is normally someone's home city, state, province, etc.:
Mr. Ferguson is from
/ comes from
Chicago. (Mr. Ferguson's home town
is Chicago.)
I'm from / I come
from Illinois, but
I live in Arizona now.
(Illinois is my
home state, but I live
in Arizona now.)
Jean-Luc is from / comes
from
Quebec. (Jean-Luc's home province
is Quebec.)
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Special Note:
Both be from and come from are in simple present
tense when they show someone's origin. If come from
is used in a past tense to refer to someone who is alive,
it shows the starting point for a trip, not someone's
country (etc.) of origin or home city, state, etc.:
Mr. Ferguson comes from Chicago.
(Chicago
is Mr. Ferguson's home city.)
Mr. Ferguson came from Chicago.
(Chicago
was Mr. Ferguson's starting point
for a trip.)
