of
part of speech
preposition; casual spelling «a» or «o'» (lotta, cuppa, o'clock)
meaning for a pupil
1) Of links a part to the whole it belongs to: a piece of cake, 3 of the apples. tree →
2) Of shows what something holds or is made of: a cup of tea, a box of crayons, made of wood. tree →
3) Of shows who something belongs to or is about: the name of the dog, a story of a giant. tree →
4) In maths «of» often means times: half of 12, 3 groups of 4. tree →
5) Of shows a date or a time: the Fourth of July; ten to (or ten of, US) six. tree →
6) (casual) «Of» is squeezed in speech: «kinda» (kind of), «sorta» (sort of), «lotta» (lot of), «cuppa» (cup of tea, UK, Australia), «outta» (out of); «off of» (US) for off. tree →
7) (casual) «Should of», «could of» are common mistakes for «should've», «could've». tree →
8) (formal) The exam voice piles up «of»: «the aggregate of the quantities», «a quantity of 12 apples», «in respect of», «the remainder of», «the product of», «the quotient of». tree →
sense in the lessons
«packs of», «rows of», «groups of» mark equal groups (multiply); «ate N of them» names the part taken from a whole (subtract); «half of 12» = 12 ÷ 2; «3 out of 10» is a part; in everyday life «a lot of», «out of», «because of», «kind of», «of course»; in casual talk «kinda», «lotta», «cuppa», «outta»; in the exam voice «the sum of», «the product of 3 and 4» (= 12), «the quotient of 12 and 4» (= 3), «the remainder of»
examples
- Tom ate 1 of them. tree →
- There are 6 rows of marbles … tree →
- Mia buys 4 packs of 5 pens. tree →
- Half of the 12 eggs broke. tree →
- Three groups of four make twelve. tree →
- Can I have a glass of water? tree →
- The table is made of wood. tree →
- She is the youngest of three sisters. tree →
- Of course you can come! tree →
- 3 outta 10, kinda bad tbh tree →
- Put the kettle on, nan wants a cuppa. tree →
- Compute the product of 4 and 5, and subsequently the quotient of the result and 2. tree →
- "My word!" said one of them. tree →
note
«packs of», «rows of» mark equal groups; «N of them» names the part taken from a whole. Trap: «cups of flour» counts flour, not cups. In fractions «of» means multiply: a half of 10 is 5. In an exam «the sum of» means add, «the difference of» subtract, «the product of» multiply, «the quotient of» divide. Write «should have» or «should've», not «should of». Say «of» with a «v» sound; do not mix it with «off» (away).
In the corpora
- Knowing this helps you understand why a family's week is planned round a piece of paper on the fridge.
- At the other end of working life comes retirement, when people stop paid work for good.
- Some retired people miss the routine, their workmates and the feeling of being useful.
- An employment tribunal is a kind of court for work disputes, such as being sacked unfairly or not being paid what is owed.
- Some families pay children for extra jobs, like washing the car, but tidying your own room is just part of living together.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «of» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.