Of
From Creolista!
preposition, rarely particle, NP junctor
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[hide]Introduction
often marks a possessor, or a filiation, or a part of a larger ensemble
- That car of hers is a real mess.
- That kid of his is a real mess.
- That part of the house is a real mess.
etymology
from off
translation
Most often, de
preposition
A very dissatisfying definition on the semantic level, but syntactically of is followed inexorably by a nominal (unlike to, for example).
It is interesting to note that of is rarely found outside of the Noun Phrase (NP). When it is, it tends to be used with past participles.
- The yarn is woven of fine silver and gold threads. (cf. made (up), composed)
Though the present participle is also possible:
- I wonder what my daughter is making of all this talk about "Mariage for Everyone"
NP junctor
N1 of N2 vs. N2 N1
- school of music // music school
- a friend of mine // my friend
- the ace of spades // *the king of white
- the spade ace // the white king
- left of center ≠ center left (♯♯ ♬♪: Suzanne Vega)
partitive
- part of the picture
- a piece of the pie
- made up of visible and other, darker matters
more complicated cases
- a hell of a problem
- that jerk (of a) brother of mine
