TKG English Learner's Dictionary

of

ofpreposition

American /ʌv/ British /ɒv/ also /əv/ the weak form used in almost all ordinary speech; often just ə before a consonant, as in cup of tea Of is nearly always unstressed, so the weak form əv is what you hear. The strong form is used only when the word is stressed or stands at the end of a phrase, as in What are you thinking of?
very commondefining vocabulary

Of joins a word, usually a noun, to the noun that follows it, and shows how the first belongs to, is part of, comes from, or is about the second.

  1. belongingused to show who or what something belongs to, is part of, or is connected with

    Of links two nouns: the second says whose the first is or what it is part of. With a person's name, 's is usual: Kim's car, not the car of Kim. Of is used with things (the door of the car) and with longer phrases for people (the mother of the child next door). In this pattern, after of a pronoun takes the possessive form mine, yours, and so on: a friend of mine.

    Collocations

    phrase the top of, the end of, the back of, the middle of, a friend of, the owner of

    1. aused after a noun for an action or a feeling to show who does it or what receives it

  2. amountsused after a word or phrase for an amount or a container, before the thing that is measured

    Some, most, all, many, none, half, one, and numbers take of before the, this, my, and pronouns: most of the students, some of them. Before a plain noun they stand alone: most students, some people.

    Collocations

    phrase a lot of, a piece of, a bit of, a cup of, some of, most of

  3. made ofused to say what something contains, is made of, or is made up of

    Collocations

    phrase made of, a group of, a team of, a set of, full of

    1. aused after a noun for a person or thing, before a quality that it has

      formal

  4. about or towardused to show what a feeling, thought, picture, or story is about or directed at

    Collocations

    adjective + preposition afraid of, proud of, tired of, aware of, fond of, ashamed of
    noun + preposition fear of, love of, knowledge of, a picture of, the idea of
    verb + preposition think of, dream of, hear of, remind someone of

  5. age and amountused between a word for a measurement or an amount and the number that gives it, and to say how old someone is

    Collocations

    phrase at the age of, a distance of, a total of, an increase of

  6. kind of youused after an adjective that judges someone's behavior, before the person who did it

    The pattern is it is or it was, then an adjective, of, the person, and to plus a verb. The adjective describes the person, not the act: it was kind of you means you were kind.

    Collocations

    adjective + preposition kind of, nice of, good of, stupid of, careless of, generous of

  7. datesused between the day and the month when saying a date

    This is how a date is said aloud. In writing, American English more often gives May 5 and British English 5 May. Some American speakers also use of for minutes before the hour: a quarter of six means 5:45.

  8. causeused to show what causes something, especially a death

    Collocations

    verb + preposition die of
    noun + preposition the cause of

Usage

In writing, could of, would of, and should of are mistakes for could have, would have, and should have: the weak form of have sounds exactly like of. Write have.

Common mistakes

the car of my father my father's car
With a person's name or a short word for a person, English usually uses 's rather than of.
most of people most people
Most, some, and all take of only before the, my, this, and pronouns: most of the people, most of them.
a friend of me a friend of mine
In this noun of mine/yours/hers double-possessive pattern, a pronoun after of takes the possessive form; elsewhere an ordinary pronoun follows of: afraid of me, a photo of her.

For translators

Meaning across languages Of covers relations that many languages express with several different words or with case endings: possession, part, material, amount, topic, and cause. Translate from the two nouns it joins, not from of itself.
Grammar trap English usually uses 's for people (Kim's leg) and of for things (the leg of the table), though of is also common with people in longer phrases (the mother of the bride). Words for amounts take of before the, my, this, and pronouns (most of them, some of the bread) but not before a plain noun (most people).
Pronunciation trap Of is almost always weak, and often shrinks to just uh before a consonant: a cup of tea sounds like cuppa tea. Saying the full, strong form every time sounds stiff. Do not confuse of, which ends in a v sound, with off, which ends in an f sound.