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Grammarwannabe Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
esoteric use of "of"
In a sentence like "Of particular consequence to Byrnes was the issue..."
Why do we use "of" here? I am assuming it has something to do with using with abstract nouns, but I can't think of enough examples where I could make it a rule.
Why do we use "of" here? I am assuming it has something to do with using with abstract nouns, but I can't think of enough examples where I could make it a rule.
Top answer
"of" is part of the phrase "of consequence", meaning having an importance or relevance. Similar phrases using "of" are "of interest", "of importance", "of relevance", "of value", "of help", "of use".
- "of" is part of the phrase "of consequence", meaning having an importance or relevance.
- Similar phrases using "of" are "of interest", "of importance", "of relevance", "of value", "of help", "of use".
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5 Answers
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"of" is part of the phrase "of consequence", meaning having an importance or relevance. Similar phrases using "of" are "of interest", "of importance", "of relevance", "of value", "of help", "of use".
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The only slightly esoteric thing ( but really this structure can hardly be called esoteric ) is that the 'of + noun structure' appears at the beginning of a sentence. However ,semantically, it's not different from
These things are of great importance to us.
or
Speaking English is of great value to many people.
The use of 'of' indicates a quality
These things are of great importance to us.
or
Speaking English is of great value to many people.
The use of 'of' indicates a quality
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Hmm. I understand the question. Why do we use "of" with importance, but not something like "bravery" "knowledge" or "disgust"
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I think it has a lot to do with semantics. Some combinations of words never or rarely appear together. This particular structure, however, is not restricted to abstract nouns only.
Of (all) the people I know, he is the smartest.
And this works also
Of all the knowledge I acquired at college, math was / is the most important.
Semantically though , these two last
Of (all) the people I know, he is the smartest.
And this works also
Of all the knowledge I acquired at college, math was / is the most important.
Semantically though , these two last
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IvanhrSemantically though , these two last examples are different from yours.Yes, I don't think the use of "of" in your examples is particularly closely related to the one in the question.
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