To pull

[irmamar]

Many families were pulled off/out from farms and small towns to large urban areas.

What do you think?

Thanks.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Many families were pulled off/out from farms and small towns to large urban areas.

Many families were pulled from farms and small towns to large urban areas.

Many families were pulled off farms ...
Many families were pulled out of small towns ...

But you can't combine them, so you need a preposition which could be correct for both.

Personally, I would say

Many families were lured from farms and small towns to large urban areas.

[irmamar]

Originally Posted by Perikles

Many families were pulled from farms and small towns to large urban areas.

Many families were pulled off farms ...
Many families were pulled out of small towns ...

But you can't combine them, so you need a preposition which could be correct for both.

Personally, I would say

Many families were lured from farms and small towns to large urban areas.

But "lure" means "atraer", while "pull" means "empujar, arrastrar". Those families needed to go to the cities to look for a job. They could find the job or not.

[Perikles]

Yes, but it is the prospect of a better job that has lured them to the town. They believed that life would be better in the town, and that belief lured them.

This verb is commonly used in this context. Would I dare to tell you something incorrect?

[irmamar]

Originally Posted by Perikles

Yes, but it is the prospect of a better job that has lured them to the town. They believed that life would be better in the town, and that belief lured them.

This verb is commonly used in this context. Would I dare to tell you something incorrect?

I know it, I just wanted to give you the correct context (for a better understanding).

[Perikles]

Yes, lots of families were forced to move because they were starving. But not everyone was forced - there were others who moved because they had heard stories of how much better life was, and these were lured.

[vita32]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Many families were pulled off/out from farms and small towns to large urban areas.

What do you think?

Thanks.

Irma, if you ask me, I would prefer to use "pulled out of the farms" or "forced out of the farms......," which of course implies that they did not go on their own free will.

If they intended to move, then, it could be written as, "Many families moved out of the farms....." The presence or absence of the word "were" affects the meaning of the sentence.

[irmamar]

OK, thank you both.

I think I like "were pulled from".

[vita32]

Originally Posted by irmamar

OK, thank you both.

I think I like "were pulled from".

I think this is correct too.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by vita32

Irma, if you ask me, I would prefer to use "pulled out of the farms" or "forced out of the farms......," which of course implies that they did not go on their own free will.

We could talk forever about this but:

forced out of the farms...... means that some force on the farm, (such as an evil landlord), removed them. This is not the case, and is misleading.

pulled out of the farms... means that some force in the big town (I can't think what) used force to move them to the town. This is not correct either.

The fact is that the people were encouraged or persuaded to move to big towns by economical factors. You may like the verb 'pull', but it doesn't make it correct.