"Made by" indicates the CREATOR or MANUFACTURER; "made from" indicates the MATERIAL or INGREDIENT something is made of; "made of" indicates the material when recognizable by sight.
MADE BY + AGENT/CREATOR: indicates WHO created, manufactured, or produced something. It is the agent use in passive voice. "This table was made by a local carpenter." "The documentary was made by a renowned director." "Software made by Google." BY always introduces the CREATOR or MANUFACTURER. Do not confuse with BY in other structures (by the time, by now, by hand — where BY has other meanings).
The handcrafted furniture in the lobby was made by an artisan collective from northern Portugal — each piece took weeks to complete.
This report was made by the research team at Stanford in collaboration with three other leading universities.
The app was originally made by a startup of four people — they were acquired by the tech giant after reaching ten million users.
MADE FROM vs MADE OF: both indicate the MATERIAL something is made from, but with an important distinction. MADE OF: the material is VISIBLE and RECOGNIZABLE in the final product. "The table is made of wood" = the wood is visible. "The ring is made of gold." MADE FROM: the material has been TRANSFORMED and is not recognizable in the final product (or the production process is relevant). "Wine is made from grapes" = grapes are not recognizable in wine. "Plastic is made from oil." "Bread is made from wheat."
The countertops in the kitchen are made of Italian marble — they were imported during the original construction of the building in 1987.
Most commercial biodiesel is made from waste cooking oil — it is one of the few sustainable fuels that can be produced at scale.
Traditional miso paste is made from soybeans, salt, and a fermenting agent — the process can take anywhere from a few weeks to several years.
Common mistake
Most common errors: (1) "Made from a local carpenter" = INCORRECT. BY introduces the creator: "Made BY a local carpenter." (2) "Made by wood" = INCORRECT. Material uses OF or FROM, not BY: "Made OF wood." (3) "Made from wood" = technically possible (wood is transformed), but "made OF wood" is more natural when wood is visible in the final product. (4) "Made of grapes" = unusual in modern English. Grapes are transformed into wine = MADE FROM: "Wine is made FROM grapes." Practical rule: if you can see the material in the final product = OF. If the material has been transformed = FROM. If describing the creator = BY.
Trick to remember it
The THREE QUESTIONS: (1) Who made it? = MADE BY + person/company/creator. (2) Can I see the material in the object? = MADE OF + visible material (wood, metal, glass, leather). (3) Was the material transformed and is no longer recognizable? = MADE FROM + transformed material (grapes, wheat, oil, waste). Quick exercises: "This jacket is made ___ leather" = leather is visible = OF. "Leather is made ___ animal hide" = hide transforms into leather = FROM. "This jacket was made ___ a tailor" = the tailor is the creator = BY.
Quick rule
Made by = the CREATOR or MANUFACTURER (person, company). Made of = VISIBLE material recognizable in the product (wood, metal, glass). Made from = TRANSFORMED material, no longer recognizable (grapes -> wine, oil -> plastic).
Did you know?
In modern native English practice, the MADE OF/MADE FROM distinction is blurring, especially in informal American English, where "made from" is increasingly used for visible materials: "made from wood", "made from glass." This convergence is a documented trend in linguistic corpora over the past three decades. However, the MADE BY (creator) vs MADE OF/FROM (material) distinction remains absolutely robust and shows no signs of erosion. Therefore, the most serious confusion in professional English is not OF vs FROM, but BY vs OF/FROM.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
This limited-edition watch was _____ a master watchmaker in Geneva who has been crafting timepieces for over forty years.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
The ancient aqueducts that supplied Rome with water were _____ volcanic stone quarried from nearby hillsides.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Made by = the CREATOR or MANUFACTURER (person, company). Made of = VISIBLE material recognizable in the product (wood, metal, glass). Made from = TRANSFORMED material, no longer recognizable (grapes -> wine, oil -> plastic).
Most common errors: (1) "Made from a local carpenter" = INCORRECT. BY introduces the creator: "Made BY a local carpenter." (2) "Made by wood" = INCORRECT. Material uses OF or FROM, not BY: "Made OF wood." (3) "Made from wood" = technically possible (wood is transformed), but "made OF wood" is more natural when wood is visible in the final product. (4) "Made of grapes" = unusual in modern English. Grapes are transformed into wine = MADE FROM: "Wine is made FROM grapes." Practical rule: if you can see the material in the final product = OF. If the material has been transformed = FROM. If describing the creator = BY.
The THREE QUESTIONS: (1) Who made it? = MADE BY + person/company/creator. (2) Can I see the material in the object? = MADE OF + visible material (wood, metal, glass, leather). (3) Was the material transformed and is no longer recognizable? = MADE FROM + transformed material (grapes, wheat, oil, waste). Quick exercises: "This jacket is made ___ leather" = leather is visible = OF. "Leather is made ___ animal hide" = hide transforms into leather = FROM. "This jacket was made ___ a tailor" = the tailor is the creator = BY.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy