II. Other Relations expressed by _Of_.
(6) _Partitive_, expressing a part of a number or quantity.
_Of_ the Forty, there were only twenty-one members present.
--PARTON.
He washed out some _of_ the dirt, separating thereby as much of
the dust as a ten-cent piece would hold.--BANCROFT.
[Sidenote: _See also Sec. 309._]
(7) _Possessive_, standing, with its object, for the possessive, or
being used with the possessive case to form the double possessive.
Not even woman's love, and the dignity _of_ a queen, could give
shelter from his contumely.--W.E. CHANNING.
And the mighty secret _of_ the Sierra stood revealed.--BANCROFT.
(8) _Appositional_, which may be in the case of--
(_a_) Nouns.
Such a book as that _of_ Job.--FROUDE.
The fair city _of_ Mexico.--PRESCOTT.
The nation _of_ Lilliput.--SWIFT.
(_b_) Noun and gerund, being equivalent to an infinitive.
In the vain hope _of_ appeasing the savages.--COOPER.
Few people take the trouble _of_ finding out what democracy
really is.--LOWELL.
(_c_) Two nouns, when the first is descriptive of the second.
This crampfish _of_ a Socrates has so bewitched him.--EMERSON
A sorry antediluvian makeshift _of_ a building you may think
it.--LAMB.
An inexhaustible bottle _of_ a shop.--ALDRICH.
(9) _Of time._ Besides the phrases _of old_, _of late_, _of a sudden_,
etc., _of_ is used in the sense of _during_.
I used often to linger _of_ a morning by the high gate.--ALDRICH
I delighted to loll over the quarter railing _of_ a calm day.
--IRVING.
(10) _Of reference_, equal to _about_, _concerning_, _with regard to_.
The Turk lay dreaming _of_ the hour.--HALLECK.
Boasted _of_ his prowess as a scalp hunter and
duelist.--BANCROFT.
Sank into reverie _of_ home and boyhood scenes.--_Id._
[Sidenote: _Idiomatic use with verbs._]
_Of_ is also used as an appendage of certain verbs, such as
_admit_,
_accept_,
_allow_,
_approve_,
_disapprove_,
_permit_, without addingto their meaning.
It also accompanies the verbs
_tire_,
_complain_,
_repent_,
_consist_,
_avail_ (one's self), and others.
Exercise.--
Find sentences with six uses of _of_.
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