live on / live for / live off (Murphy Unit 135, Verb + preposition 4)
Pattern
Section titled “Pattern”| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| live on | survive / subsist (food, money) | Sandra lives on bread and eggs. |
| live for | purpose / motivation | I live for my family. / He lives for football. |
| live with | tolerate / coexist | I can’t live with the noise. / She lives with her parents. |
| live off | exploit / benefit from (someone) | He lives off his parents. (parasite) |
| live through | endure a difficult period | They lived through the war. |
The key pair
Section titled “The key pair”Same verb, opposite directions:
- live on = INPUT — what sustains you (food, money): live on bread and eggs, live on a small income
- live for = OUTPUT — what you sustain yourself for (purpose/passion): live for my children, live for the weekend
on = the thing that keeps you alive (passive survival) for = the thing that gives life meaning (active passion)
Indonesian trap
Section titled “Indonesian trap”Indonesian hidup dari (“live from”) → English is live on, not live from:
- Sandra hidup dari roti dan telur → Sandra lives on bread and eggs ✓
- Sandra lives from bread and eggs ✗
Related subsistence verbs
Section titled “Related subsistence verbs”| Verb + prep | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| feed on | animals | Cows feed on grass. |
| survive on | barely manage | We survived on little food. |
| depend on | rely | I depend on my salary. |
| live on | humans subsist | They live on rice. |
Test application
Section titled “Test application”Sandra eats only bread and eggs. Sandra lives ___ bread and eggs.
Answer: on — subsistence. live on bread and eggs = survive eating only that.
Why not the others?
- of ✗ — wrong preposition (Indonesian dari trap)
- for ✗ — purpose, not survival (“live for bread” = bread is my passion, odd)
- on ✓ — subsistence
Source
Section titled “Source”Raymond Murphy, English Grammar in Use (4th ed.), Unit 135 — Verb + preposition 4. Ebot lesson 2026-08-29: “Sandra lives ___ bread and eggs” → on. User’s gloss: “live on = survive, for = purpose.”