of

A child builds a tower of colorful wooden blocks.

Definition

Preposition (giới từ in Vietnamese, but in English it is consistently a preposition)

1. Possession or belonging: "of" indicates that something belongs to or is associated with someone or something.

   • The works of Shakespeare (the works belonging to Shakespeare).

2. Origin or source: "of" shows where something comes from or its starting point.

   • She is of French descent (her origin is French).

3. Material or composition: "of" indicates what something is made from.

   • A house of wood (a house made from wood).

4. Partitive relationship: "of" shows a part of a larger whole.

   • One of my friends (a single person from the group of my friends).

5. Cause or reason: "of" indicates the cause of an action or state.

   • He died of tuberculosis (the cause of his death was tuberculosis).

6. Reference or topic: "of" introduces the subject being discussed or thought about.

   • To think of someone (to consider or remember that person).

7. Distance or separation: "of" shows a distance or removal from a point.

   • South of Hanoi (located to the south, in relation to Hanoi).

8. Time reference: "of" indicates a specific time or period.

   • He came of a Saturday (he came on a Saturday).

9. Attribute or quality: "of" describes a characteristic or feature.

   • A man of ability (a man possessing ability).

10. Apposition: "of" connects two nouns where the second defines the first.

    • The city of Hanoi (the city that is Hanoi).

Usage Examples

• Possession: (The cover belonging to the book.)
• Origin: (He comes from a humble background.)
• Material: (The statue consists of marble.)
• Partitive: (A subset of the student group.)
• Cause: (Old age was the cause of death.)
• Topic: (I consider or remember you.)
• Distance: (The park is two miles away from my home.)
• Time: (He visits during the evening.)
• Attribute: (She possesses great intelligence.)
• Apposition: (The month that is December.)

Advanced Usage

• "of course": used to emphasize agreement or obviousness.

  • Of course, you can borrow my pen. (It is obvious or naturally allowed.)

• "of late": recently.

  • I have not seen her of late. (I have not seen her recently.)

• "of a sudden": suddenly.

  • Of a sudden, the lights went out. (Suddenly, the lights went out.)

Variants and Related Words

• Of has no direct variants as a word, but it appears in compound prepositions:
  • Because of (due to): We stayed home because of the rain. (Due to the rain.)
  • Instead of (in place of): He chose tea instead of coffee. (In place of coffee.)

Synonyms

• Belonging to: indicating possession (e.g., = ).
• Made from: indicating material (e.g., = ).
• About: indicating topic (e.g., = ).

Phrasal Verbs

• Think of: to consider or remember.

  • I can't think of his name. (I cannot remember his name.)

• Hear of: to learn about something.

  • Have you heard of that new restaurant? (Do you know about that restaurant?)

• Consist of: to be made up of.

  • The team consists of five players. (The team is composed of five players.)

Related Idioms

• Of one's own accord: voluntarily, without being forced.

  • She left of her own accord. (She left voluntarily.)

• Of no account: unimportant.

  • His opinion is of no account to me. (His opinion is unimportant to me.)

• Of a piece: consistent or similar.

  • His actions are of a piece with his words. (His actions match his words.)