of
possession and other relationships
Of is used for showing possession. It can also be used to show other types of relationship between people or things.
It was the home of a schoolteacher.
She was the sister of the Duke of Urbino.
At the top of the hill Jackson paused for breath.
You can use of in front of a possessive pronoun such as mine, his, or theirs. You do this to show that someone is one of a group of people or things connected with a particular person. For example, instead of saying ‘He is one of my friends’, you can say ‘He is a friend of mine.’
He's a very good friend of ours.
I talked to a colleague of yours recently.
You can use of like this in front of other possessives.
He's a friend of my mother's.
She was a cousin of Lorna Cook's.
The 's is sometimes omitted, especially in American English.
He's a close friend of the President.
Be careful
Don't use ‘of’ in front of a personal pronoun such as ‘me’, ‘him’, or ‘them’. Don't say, for example, ‘the sister of me’. Instead you use a possessive determiner such as my, his, or their.
Don't use ‘of’ in front of a personal pronoun such as ‘me’, ‘him’, or ‘them’. Don't say, for example, ‘the sister of me’. Instead you use a possessive determiner such as my, his, or their.
My sister visited us last week.
He had his hands in his pockets.
Consider the future of our society.
You don't usually use ‘of’ in front of short noun phrases. Instead you use 's or the apostrophe '. For example, instead of saying ‘the car of my friend’, you say ‘my friend’s car'.
I can hear Raoul's voice.
This is Mr Duffield's sister.
We watched the President's speech.
The notice is in all our colleagues' offices.
➜ See 's
descriptions
You can sometimes use of and a noun phrase to describe something, instead of using an adjective and a grading adverb. For example, instead of saying that something is ‘very interesting’, you can say that it is of great interest. This is a rather formal use.
It will be of great interest to you.
The result is of little importance.
When you use an adjective to comment on an action, you can put of and a pronoun after the adjective. The pronoun refers to the person who has performed the action. For example, you can say ‘That was stupid of you’.
It was brave of them.
I'm sorry, that was silly of me.
works of art
Don't talk about a book ‘of’ a particular author, or a piece of music ‘of’ a particular composer. Instead, use by.
Have you read the latest book by Hilda Offen?
We'll hear some pieces by Mozart.
Similarly, you use by to indicate who painted a picture. A picture of a particular person shows that person in the picture.
We saw the famous painting by Rubens, The Straw Hat.
The museum owns a 16th century painting of Henry VIII.
places
You can talk about the capital of a country, state, or province.
We went to Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia.
However, don't talk about a town or village ‘of’ a particular country or area. Instead, use in.
He lives in a small town in Southern Ecuador.
My favourite town in Shropshire is Ludlow.
You also use in, rather than ‘of’, after superlatives. For example, you talk about ‘the tallest building in Europe’. Don't say ‘the tallest building of Europe’.
These are the biggest lizards in the world.