of

of S1 W1 / əv, ə ; strong ɒv $ əv, ə strong $ ɑv / 介词

1 used to show what a part belongs to or comes from :

the back of the house

the last scene of the movie

the end of the day

2 used to show who something or someone belongs to or has a connection with :

a friend of Mark’s

Avocado salad is a favourite of mine.

Product inspection is the responsibility of the employees themselves.

3 used when talking about a feature or quality that something has :

the cost of the meal

the beauty of the scenery

the length of the swimming pool

4 used to show what group one or more things or people belong to :

some of the students

‘Sunflowers’ is one of his best-known paintings.

Two of the guests are vegetarian.

a member of the baseball team

5 used to show what type of substance or thing you are referring to, when talking about an amount :

two kilos of sugar

millions of dollars

a bar of chocolate

6 used to say what something contains :

a cup of coffee

several packets of cigarettes

truckloads of refugees

7 used to say what type of things or people are in a group :

a herd of elephants

his circle of friends

a bunch of bananas

8

a) used to state specifically which thing of the general type mentioned you are referring to :

the city of New York

the art of painting

the problem of unemployment

b) used to state specifically what a particular number, amount, age etc is :

at the age of 52

an increase of 3%

9 used to talk about things produced by a famous or skilled writer, artist etc :

the plays of Shakespeare

the paintings of Picasso

the work of a great architect

10 used to say what a story, some news etc is about, or what a picture, map etc shows :

a story of love and loss

news of his arrest

a photo of Elizabeth

a map of Indonesia

11

a) used after 名词 that refer to actions, or to people who do something, in order to show who or what the action is done to :

the cancellation of the meeting

the killing of innocent children

supporters of the project

b) used after 名词 that refer to actions in order to show who or what does the action :

the ringing of the phone

the arrival of a visitor

12 used after some 形容词 that describe feelings, to show who or what the feeling is directed towards :

He’s always been frightened of spiders.

Most children want their parents to feel proud of them.

13 used when referring to the day, moment etc when something happened :

the day of the accident

the week of the festival

I was at home at the time of the murder.

14 used to say where something is in relation to a place or thing

north/south etc of something

a historic seaside town 99 km south of London

to the left/right of something

To the left of the sofa is a table.

I live within a mile of here.

15 used to describe a person or thing by saying what their main qualities or features are :

Albright was seen as a woman of great determination.

It’s an area of considerable historical interest.

16 used to say what someone’s age is :

He has two children, a boy of 12 and a girl of 15.

17 it is kind/stupid/careless etc of somebody (to do something) used to say that someone’s action shows a particular quality :

It was kind of you to remember my birthday.

18 used to say where someone comes from :

the people of China

Jesus of Nazareth

19 used to show the country, organization, or group in which someone has a particular position :

King Philip II of Spain

the secretary of the tennis club

20 used in dates before the name of the month :

the 27th of July

21 used to say when something happened :

the presidential election of 1825

one of the biggest upsets of recent years

22 American English spoken used in giving the time, to mean ‘before’ 同义词 to British English :

It’s a quarter of seven (= 6.45 ) .

23 used to show the cause of someone’s death :

He died of cancer.

24 literary used to say what material has been used to make something :

a dress of pure silk

25 of an evening/of a weekend etc British English in the evenings, at weekend s etc :

We often used to walk by the river of an evening.

Grammar

To refer to someone or something that belongs to or is connected with someone, it is usual to use –’s or –s’ , not of , with short 名词 短语 :

Dad’s car (NOT the car of Dad)

a child’s bike (NOT the bike of a child)

my sister’s boyfriend (NOT the boyfriend of my sister)

the miners’ strike (NOT the strike of the miners)

When referring to one of several people or things belonging to or connected with someone, or when using ’this’ or ’that’, use of mine/yours/his/hers/ours/theirs :

a friend of mine (NOT a friend of me)

that car of yours (NOT that car of you)

To talk about the person who sang, wrote, or painted a particular work, use by , not of :

a song by Mariah Carey (NOT of Mariah Carey)