What (who) is of - definition
WIKIMEDIA DISAMBIGUATION PAGE
Of; OF (disambiguation); Of (disambiguation); O.F.; O.f.; Of.; O F
OF
Overflow Flag (Reference: assembler)
of
We say 'an advantage/a disadvantage of something:
- The advantage of living alone is that you can do what you like.
But we say 'there is an advantage in doing something':
We say a cause 'of' something:
- Nobody knows what the cause of the explosion was.
We say 'a photograph/a picture of' someone/something:
- He always keeps a photograph of his wife in his wallet.
We say 'nice/ kind/ good / generous / mean / stupid / silly / intelligent / clever / sensible / (im)polite/ rude/unreasonable of someone (to do something)':
- Thank you. It was very nice/kind of you to help me.
We say 'to be afraid / frightened / terrified / scared / proud / ashamed / jealous / envious / suspicious / aware / conscious of someone/something:
- 'Are you afraid of dogs?' 'Yes, I'm terrified of them.'
- He didn't trust me. He was suspicious of my intentions.
We say 'to be capable/incapable/fond/full/short/tired of something/someone':
- I'm sure you are capable of passing the examination.
- Mary is very fond of animals.
- The letter I wrote was full of mistakes.
- Come on, let's go! I'm tired of waiting.
We say 'to take care of someone/something (= look after)':
- Have a nice holiday. Take care of yourself!
We say 'to consist of something':
- We had an enormous meal. It consisted of seven courses.
We say 'to die of an illness':
- What did he die of. A heart attack.
We say 'to dream of being something/doing something (= imagine)':
- I often dream of being rich.
We say 'to hear of someone/something' = know that someone/something exists:
- Have you heard of a company called 'Smith Electrics'.
We say 'to think of someone/something' (= remember, bring to mind, have an idea):
- He told me his name but I can't think of it now. (not 'think about it')
The difference between 'think of 'and 'think about' is sometimes very small. Often you I can use 'of' or 'about':
- My sister is thinking of (or about) going to Canada.
We say 'to accuse someone of (doing) something':
- Tom accused Ann of being selfish.
We say 'to remind someone of someone/something (= cause someone to remember)':
- This house reminds me of the one I lived in when I was a child.
- Look at this photograph of Tom. Who does he remind you of.
But: remind someone about something (= tell someone not to forget).
of
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
Note: In addition to the uses shown below, 'of' is used after some verbs, nouns, and adjectives in order to introduce extra information. 'Of' is also used in phrasal prepositions such as 'because of', 'instead of' and 'in spite of', and in phrasal verbs such as 'make of' and 'dispose of'.
1.
You use of to combine two nouns when the first noun identifies the feature of the second noun that you want to talk about.
The average age of the women interviewed was only 21.5.
...the population of this town...
The aim of the course is to help students to comprehend the structure of contemporary political and social systems.
PREP: n PREP n
2.
You use of to combine two nouns, or a noun and a present participle, when the second noun or present participle defines or gives more information about the first noun.
She let out a little cry of pain.
...the problem of a national shortage of teachers.
...an idealized but hazy notion of world socialism.
...the recession of 1974-75...
PREP: n PREP n/-ing
3.
You use of after nouns referring to actions to specify the person or thing that is affected by the action or that performs the action. For example, 'the kidnapping of the child' refers to an action affecting a child; 'the arrival of the next train' refers to an action performed by a train.
...the reduction of trade union power inside the party.
...the assessment of future senior managers.
...the death of their father.
PREP: n PREP n
4.
You use of after words and phrases referring to quantities or groups of things to indicate the substance or thing that is being measured.
...7.6 litres of pure alcohol.
...dozens of people.
...billions of dollars.
...a collection of short stories...
PREP: quant PREP n, n PREP n
5.
You use of after the name of someone or something to introduce the institution or place they belong to or are connected with.
...the Prince of Wales.
...the Finance Minister of Bangladesh.
PREP: n PREP n
6.
You use of after a noun referring to a container to form an expression referring to the container and its contents.
Conder opened another bottle of wine...
...a box of tissues.
...a packet of cigarettes.
...a roomful of people.
PREP: n PREP n
7.
You use of after a count noun and before an uncount noun when you want to talk about an individual piece or item.
...a blade of grass...
Marina ate only one slice of bread...
With a stick of chalk he wrote her order on a blackboard.
PREP: n PREP n
8.
You use of to indicate the materials or things that form something.
...local decorations of wood and straw.
...loose-fitting garments of linen.
...a mixture of paint-thinner and petrol.
PREP: n PREP n
9.
You use of after a noun which specifies a particular part of something, to introduce the thing that it is a part of.
...the other side of the square...
We had almost reached the end of the street.
...the beginning of the year...
Edward disappeared around 9.30pm on the 23rd of July.
...the core of the problem.
PREP: n PREP n
10.
You use of after some verbs to indicate someone or something else involved in the action.
He'd been dreaming of her...
Listen, I shall be thinking of you always...
Her parents did not approve of her decision...
PREP: v PREP n/-ing, v n PREP n/-ing
11.
You use of after some adjectives to indicate the thing that a feeling or quality relates to.
I have grown very fond of Alec...
His father was quite naturally very proud of him...
I think everyone was scared of her...
PREP: adj PREP n/-ing
12.
You use of before a word referring to the person who performed an action when saying what you think about the action.
This has been so nice, so terribly kind of you...
That's certainly very generous of you Tony.
PREP: adj PREP pron/n-proper
13.
You use of after a noun which describes someone or something, to introduce the person or thing you are talking about.
...an awkward, slow-moving giant of a man.
PREP: a n PREP a n
14.
If something is more of or less of a particular thing, it is that thing to a greater or smaller degree.
Your extra fat may be more of a health risk than you realize...
As time goes by, sleeping becomes less of a problem.
PREP: more/less PREP a n
15.
You use of to indicate a characteristic or quality that someone or something has.
She is a woman of enviable beauty.
...a matter of overwhelming importance...
PREP: n PREP n, adj-superl PREP n
16.
You use of to specify an amount, value, or age.
Last Thursday, Nick announced record revenues of $3.4 billion...
He has been sentenced to a total of 21 years in prison since 1973...
...young people under the age of 16 years...
PREP: n PREP amount
17.
You use of after a noun such as 'month' or 'year' to indicate the length of time that some state or activity continues.
...eight bruising years of war...
The project has gone through nearly a dozen years of planning.
PREP: n PREP n/-ing
18.
You can use of to say what time it is by indicating how many minutes there are before the hour mentioned. (AM)
At about a quarter of eight in the evening Joe Urber calls...
We got to the beach at five of one in the afternoon.
PREP
Pronunciation examples for of
1. greater predictor of of, of, of of black, uh,
Ibram X. Kendi _ The Heartbeat of Anti-racism _ Equity Talks
2. of animals, of the earth, of workers, of consumers,
Climate Change, Sustainability, and What You Can Do to Make an Impact _ Talks at Google
3. of some kind of law of conservation of information
John Lennox _ 2084 - Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity _ Talks at Google
4. of the evolution of creativity, of imagination, of abstract thought,
ted-talks_2377_GenevievevonPetzinger_2015F-320k
5. process of self reflection of self control, um, of of
Ibram X. Kendi _ The Heartbeat of Anti-racism _ Equity Talks
Examples of use of of
1. Fidel Castro Ruz, President of the Council of State of the Government of the Republic of Government of Cuba, in honor of the Heads of Delegations of the member countries of the Movement of Nonaligned Nations."
2. Yesterday he was convicted of embezzling the Russian state of hundreds of millions of dollars, of corporate and personal tax evasion, of flouting court orders, and of fraud.
3. On top of the list stands Omar al–Bashir of Sudan, followed by Kim Jong–Il of North Korea, Sayyid Ali Khamenei of Iran, Hu Jintao of China, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Than Shwe of Burma, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan, Muammar al–Qaddafi of Libya, Bashar al–Assad of Syria, Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea, King Mswati III of Swaziland, Isayas of Afewerki of Eritrea, Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, Choummaly Sayasone of Laos.
4. The deceased included Bachil, wife of Umar, Bachal, son of Umar, Maryam, wife of Ibrahim, Khairan, daughter of Ibrahim, Nooran, wife of Haji, Khairan, daughter of Haji, Banoo, daughter of Haji, Razia, daughter of Haji, Allahdino, son of Jumoo, Amant, wife of Allahdino, Haneefan, wife of Mohammad Shafi, Shafi, son of Mohammad, Niamat, daughter of Mohammad, Hawa, daughter of Mohammad, Nathi, wife of Nooroo, Raheeman, wife of Haji Abdullah, Khadija, wife of Siddique, Abida, daughter of Hussain, Jhalloo, wife of Kandero, Lakhano, son of Kandero, Khairan, daughter of Kandero, Fahmeeda, daughter of Kandero, Soomari, daughter of Kandero, Saran, daughter of Jumman, Hashim, son of Moosa, Abdul Kareem, son of Hashim, Fatima, wife of Jumman, Ali Nawaz, son of Jumman, Abdullah, son of Lakhano, Zubeda, daughter of Hassan, Idrees, son of Hashim and Yakoob.
5. Holders of 1.78 billion of some of the lowest priority debt face a writedown of part of their holdings.