1. A Swiss family were pulling spaghetti off trees.

2. A Swiss family were pulling spaghetti from trees.

(Which preposition do we have to use, off or from? Are both OK and the same?

use was instead of were. and and if you say off, then say they were pulling it off of trees. if not then use from

I already answered this:

http://www.jiskha.com/display.cgi?id=1302169550

OK... Thank you. I wanted to find the question by using SEARCH, but I couldn't find resent questions today.

So I had to post the question again.
Thank you. Have a great weekend.

The webmaster was working on the website today, maybe while you were searching. I found the original post by searching for off trees!!

=)

OK. Thank you for your help.

Both "off" and "from" can be used in this context, but they convey slightly different meanings.

1. "A Swiss family were pulling spaghetti off trees." In this sentence, the word "off" suggests that the spaghetti was physically hanging or attached to the trees, and the family was removing it. This implies that the spaghetti was somehow growing on the trees, which is obviously not possible. This usage is a playful reference to a popular April Fools' Day prank broadcasted by the BBC in 1957, where they showed a family picking spaghetti off trees.

2. "A Swiss family were pulling spaghetti from trees." In this sentence, the word "from" suggests that the family was obtaining the spaghetti directly from the trees, without implying that it was growing on the trees. This implies that the spaghetti was placed in the trees for the purpose of this activity, potentially as part of a prank or an unusual event.

Given these distinctions, it is better to use the preposition "from" to avoid any confusion or misleading implications.