Usage note : of

In almost all its uses the preposition of is translated by de. Exceptions to this are substances (made of gold), uses with a personal pronoun (that’s kind of you), proportions (some of us, of the 12 of us…) and time expressions (of an evening). For translations of these, see the entry of. Remember that de + le always becomes du and that de + les always becomes des.

To find translations for phrases beginning with of (of course, of all, of interest, of late, of old) you should consult the appropriate noun etc. entry (course, all, interest, late, old etc.).

of also often appears as the second element of a verb (consist of, deprive of, die of, think of). For translations, consult the appropriate verb entry.

of is used after certain nouns, pronouns and adjectives in English (a member of, a game of, some of, most of, afraid of, capable of, ashamed of). For translations, consult the appropriate noun, pronoun or adjective entry.

When of it or of them are used for something already referred to, they are translated by en :

there’s a lot of it

= il y en a beaucoup

there are several of them

= il y en a plusieurs

Note, however, the following expressions used when referring to people :

there are six of them

= ils sont six

there were several of them

= ils étaient plusieurs

For particular usages see the entry of.

This dictionary contains usage notes on such topics as Age, Capacity measurement, Dates, Illnesses, Length measurement, Quantities, Towns and cities, and Weight measurement, many of which use of.

Big English-French dictionary. 2003.