Need clarification on a particular use of から


I saw this sentence recently and I'm particularly confused on the use of から in
the sentence.

まず君から殺す。

What does から mean here? What's the difference between that and まず君を殺す? How
does から replace the particle を and what are some other examples/situations
where it can do this?




`から` here takes a predicate and changes it so that it will mean a series of
events, with one of its arguments ranging over an ordered set of things.

> 君を殺す  
>  'I will kill you.'
>
> 君から殺す  
>  'For x = x_1, x_2, ..., x_n, I will kill x in this order, where x_1 is you'

The difference between using `まず` is that `まず` takes a focus (which is the
variable part of the implied events to follow) that is not necessarily the
noun phrase adjacent to it. It can be the `を`-phrase, the verb, the whole
predicate, the `が`-phrase, or whatever:

> まず **君** を殴る [Focus: 君]  
>  'First, I will hit you, then I will hit your brother, ...'
>
> まず君を **殴る** [Focus: 殴る]  
>  'First, I will hit you, then I will kick you, ...'
>
> まず **君を殴る** [Focus: 君を殴る]  
>  'First, I will hit you, then I will go for shopping, ...'  
>  'First, I will hit you, then my friend will hit you, ...'

Depending on the focus, `まず`-construction has several interpretation, and is
ambiguous. One of the interpretations will be the same one using `から`, so
using both will not cause conflict.

A restriction on this usage of `から` is that the predicate has to be _telic_
(has an end point) in the relevant usage. With predicates that are telic, the
construction is grammatical:

> おかずから食べる  
>  あの建物から着工される  
>  あの建物から建設され始める

When the predicate is atelic, you cannot use this construction. The following
are all ungrammatical:

> × おかずから食べ続ける  
>  × 太郎から存在する  
>  × あの建物からそびえる

Furthermore, it might be the case that for some speakers, the predicate also
has to have duration. In the grammatical examples above, the predicates had
duration, but the following predicates do not have duration, and it seems they
are not completely natural:

> 太郎から現れる  
>  その隕石から消滅する

They become more natural when duration is added to the predicates:

> 太郎から現れはじめる  
>  その隕石から消滅し始める




`から` here takes a predicate and changes it so that it will mean a series of
events, with one of its arguments ranging over an ordered set of things.

> 君を殺す  
>  'I will kill you.'
>
> 君から殺す  
>  'For x = x_1, x_2, ..., x_n, I will kill x in this order, where x_1 is you'

The difference between using `まず` is that `まず` takes a focus (which is the
variable part of the implied events to follow) that is not necessarily the
noun phrase adjacent to it. It can be the `を`-phrase, the verb, the whole
predicate, the `が`-phrase, or whatever:

> まず **君** を殴る [Focus: 君]  
>  'First, I will hit you, then I will hit your brother, ...'
>
> まず君を **殴る** [Focus: 殴る]  
>  'First, I will hit you, then I will kick you, ...'
>
> まず **君を殴る** [Focus: 君を殴る]  
>  'First, I will hit you, then I will go for shopping, ...'  
>  'First, I will hit you, then my friend will hit you, ...'

Depending on the focus, `まず`-construction has several interpretation, and is
ambiguous. One of the interpretations will be the same one using `から`, so
using both will not cause conflict.

A restriction on this usage of `から` is that the predicate has to be _telic_
(has an end point) in the relevant usage. With predicates that are telic, the
construction is grammatical:

> おかずから食べる  
>  あの建物から着工される  
>  あの建物から建設され始める

When the predicate is atelic, you cannot use this construction. The following
are all ungrammatical:

> × おかずから食べ続ける  
>  × 太郎から存在する  
>  × あの建物からそびえる

Furthermore, it might be the case that for some speakers, the predicate also
has to have duration. In the grammatical examples above, the predicates had
duration, but the following predicates do not have duration, and it seems they
are not completely natural:

> 太郎から現れる  
>  その隕石から消滅する

They become more natural when duration is added to the predicates:

> 太郎から現れはじめる  
>  その隕石から消滅し始める

