Ex. 1 The cover protects the machine from dust.
Ex. 2 Waxing your car will help protect against rust.
I noticed the prepositions, from or against, go after the verb protect.
But I can’t find the difference between them. I think using from and against are quite similar. Are they interchangeable in the two sentences?
Thank you!!!
There is little or no difference.
So, “Physical exercise can protect you against heart disease” and “Physical exercise can protect you from heart disease” are the same, right?!
Maybe not exactly the same. I don’t know if this is a rule, but in all the examples I can think of, “protect from” is used when there is a direct object: “Eating this will protect you from heart disease”
And “protect against” is used without a direct object:: “Eating this will protect against heart disease.”
Do you see the difference? Again, I do not know if this is a rule of any kind, but this sounds like how I would use each of the two prepositions. “Protect you against” sounds very slightly odd, though it’s probably okay.
Yes, I saw the difference. Thank you so much for pointing it out.