preposition
from, of
A1
Von is a German preposition meaning 'from' or 'of'. In modern usage it governs the dative (e.g., das Geschenk von meiner Schwester). Common for origin, possession, authorship and partitive expressions. It does not alternate cases; pair with dative articles (vom = von dem) in contracted form.
Examples
Der Vorschlag wurde von den Mitarbeitern abgelehnt, weil er nicht ausreichend vorbereitet war.
The proposal was rejected by the employees because it was not sufficiently prepared.
Ein Buch von diesem Autor ist sehr bekannt.
A book by this author is very well-known.
Das Geschenk ist von meiner Schwester.
The gift is from my sister.
Details
Mnemonics
Picture an arrow pointing away from a location labeled 'von'.
Sounds like English 'von' in names — think of 'from' a place.
Notes
In modern German 'von' governs the dative. Historically used in genitive constructions in some fixed expressions.