The Grammar of the of-Prepositional Phrases

Question

Hello everybody,Can you help me with rules referring to the of-prepositional phrases. I would like to know how to use articles in such phrases. I have noticed that the of phrase can, in a certain way, change the rules for definite and undefinite articles and the way how to use them. For example, we say:(1) Love is the most beautiful feeling in the world. BUT(2) The love of God is much greater than you can imagine. In a certain way, of phrases force us to use the article in front of the word LOVE. Can you help me with more explicit rules for how to use the articles in the of phrases? Thank you very much,Magixo PS Here are some examples of the phrases. the back of the housethe last scene of the moviethe end of the daya friend of Mark'sthe cost of the mealthe beauty of the scenerythe length of the swimming-poola member of the baseball teamtwo kilos of sugarmillions of dollarsa bar of chocolatea cup of coffeeseveral packets of cigarettestruckloads of refugeesthe art of paintingthe problem of unemploymentplays of Shakespearethe paintings of Picassothe work of a great architecta story of love and lossnews of his arresta photo of Elizabetha map of IndonesiaCan you recommend a good book dealing with the of prepositiona phrases. How to use the articles with the phrases, when to shorten them, etc. Here's an example:(3) The house of my uncle is comfortable. (4) My uncle's house is comfortabel. In a few words, I would like to know everything about the grammar of the of prepositional phrases.Thank you very much for your help,Magixo

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Hi magio;

The use of the articles - a, the, an - in English is pretty complex.
Basicly, we use "the" when the object modified is a specific item.

magixo(1) Love is the most beautiful feeling in the world. BUT
(2) The love of *** is much greater than you can imagine.

There is an easy explanation of these two. In the first sentence, "love" is a general emotion. In the second, it is a specific one. Making a general emotion into a specific one is done by a modifer such as a prepositional phrase. The phrase acts as a specifier - it tells specifically what thing we are speaking about. Prepositional phrases are modifiers - but, unlike adjectives, they follow the noun that they modify.

Here are some other examples:

Sugar is sweeter than honey.
Use the sugar on the table, not the honey in the jar, to sweeten your tea.

Drink water every day.
The water in the river is not safe to drink.

magixo(3) The house of my uncle is comfortable.
(4) My uncle's house is comfortable.

The use of the possessive case or an of-phrase just needs practice.

If it is a person, preferably use the of-phrase
- My aunt's pies are delicious. (not - The pies of my aunt...)

- The childrens' pet is a mouse.

If if is a pronoun - (almost) always use the possessive form
Its color was bright green, but now it's faded. (not - The color of it..)

My/ her favorite color is red. ( not - The favorite color of mine/hers is red. )

Except you have to use the of-phrase when the noun is non-specific, and you use the indefinite article:
A favorite color of mine is red. (One of my favorite colors is red)

Sometimes, the of-phrase is used in set expressions
And that was the end of it. (an experience, a story...)

If it is an object, preferably use the of-phrase, or a noun modifier:

The roof of the house is covered with snow. (not - The house's roof....

The leg of the table / the table leg / is wobbly. (not - The table's leg
The garden wall / wall around the garden / is falling down.

If the objects are very closely connected, we tend to use the possessive - it makes it feel more "person-like"

- Our country's flag is red, white and blue.

I hope this helps you a little...

The Grammar of the of-Prepositional Phrases

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