2020-11-18
ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด O – of & off
การใช้ภาษาอังกฤษ ที่ถือว่า ถูกต้องนี้ เป็นไปตามมาตรฐานการใช้ภาษา
การใช้คำอังกฤษ ไม่กำหนดมาตฐาน ถือตามส่วนใหญ่ที่ใช้แต่ละท้องถิ่น
ความหมาย อาจยืดหยุ่น ขึ้นอยู่กับ ตำแหน่ง/หน้าที่ ในประโยค
Dictionary.com
ออกเสียง of = ‘UHV” (unstressed)
ออกเสียง off = ‘AWF’ or ‘OF’
Dictionary.com
USAGE NOTE FOR OF
Of is sometimes added to phrases beginning with the adverb
how or too followed by a descriptive adjective:
How long of a drive will it be? It's too hot of a day for tennis.
This construction is probably modeled on
that in which how or too isfollowed by much,
an unquestionably standard use in
all varieties of speech and writing:
How much of a problem will that cause the government?
There was too much of an uproar for the speaker to be heard.
The use of of with descriptive adjectives after how or too
is largely restricted to informal speech.
It occurs occasionally in informal writing and written representations of speech. See also couple, off.
USAGE NOTE FOR OF
Because the preposition of, when unstressed ( a piece of cake ),
and the unstressed or contracted auxiliary verb have
(could have gone, could've gone)
are both pronounced [uhv] or [uh] inconnected speech,
inexperienced writers commonly confuse the two words,
spelling have as of
(I would of handed in my book report, but the dog ate it).
Professional writers have been able to exploit this spelling deliberately, especially in fiction, to help represent the speech of the uneducated:
If he could of went home, he would of.
USAGE NOTE FOR OFF
The phrasal preposition off of is old in English,
going back to the 16th century.
Although usage guides reject it as redundant, recommending off without of,
the phrase is widespread in speech,
including that of the educated:
Let's watch as the presidential candidates come off of the rostrum and down into the audience.
Off of is rare in edited writing except to give the flavor of speech.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language
Usage Note:
The "double genitive" construction,
in which a possessive form appears
as the object of the preposition of,
as in a friend of my father's or a book of mine,
is looked down on by some grammarians and usage critics.
But this construction has been used in English sincethe 1300s
and serves a useful purpose.
It can help sort out ambiguous phrases
like Bob's photograph,
which could mean either "a photograph of Bob" (i.e., revealing Bob's image)
or "a photograph that is in Bob's possession."
A photograph of Bob's, on the other hand, can only be a photo that Bob has in his possession and may or may not show Bob's image.
There are also cases in which the double genitive may be more elegant;
for example, many speakers find such sentences as
That's your only friend that I've ever met or
That's your only friend I've ever met to beawkward or impossible,
but rephrasing using the double genitiveprovides an acceptable alternative,
as in That's the only friend of yours that I've ever met.
Adverbs of degree, such as too, that, and so,
tend to cause a shift in the word order of a sentence under certain circumstances.
For instance, it's common to speak of "a long movie" or "a big deal,"
but not of "a too long movie" or"a that big deal."
The customary way of rewording in these cases
is to place the adverb and adjective
before the indefinite article rather than after it:
too long a movie; that big a deal.
Often, especially in speech, an of is inserted as well:
too long of a movie; that big of a deal.
But this construction using of isconsidered ungrammatical;
in our 2012 survey, 74 percent of the Usage Panel found the sentence That's too long of a movie for me to sit through unacceptable.
A somewhat smaller number, but still a majority—58 percent—disapproved of He wanted to apologize, but I told him it wasn't that big of a deal.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language
Our Living Language
Some speakers of vernacular English varieties,
particularly in isolated or mountainous regions of the Southern United States,
use phrases such as of a night or of an evening
in place of at night or in the evening,
as in We'd go hunting of an evening.
This of construction is used onlywhen referring to a repeated action, where Standard English uses nights, evenings, and the like,
as in We'd go hunting nights.
It is not used for single actions,
as in She returned at night.
These of and -s constructions are related.
The -s construction, which dates back to the Old English period (c. 449-1100), does not signify a plurality but is similar to the so-called genitive suffix -s, which often indicates possession, as in the king's throne.
Just as this example can also be phrased as the throne of the king, nights can be reformulated as of a night.
This reformulation has been possible since the Middle English period (c. 1100-1500).
Sometimes the original -s ending remains in the of construction,
as in We'd walk to the store of evenings, but usually it is omitted.
Using of with adverbial time phrases has not always been
confined to vernacular speech,
as is evidenced by its occurrence in sources ranging from the Wycliffite Bible (1382) to Theodore Dreiser's 1911 novel Jennie Gerhardt:
"There was a place out in one corner of the veranda where he liked to sit of a spring or summer evening."
Using such of constructions reflectsa long-standing tendency
for English speakers to eliminate the case endings that were once attached to nouns
to indicate their role as subject, object, or possessor.
Nowadays, word order and the use of prepositional phrases
usually determine a noun's role.
Despite the trend to replace genitive -s with of phrases,
marking adverbial phrases of time with of is fading out of American vernacular usage,
probably because one can form these phrases without -s, as in at night.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language
Usage Note:
The compound preposition off of
is generally regarded as informal and is best avoidedin formal speech and writing:
He stepped off (not off of) the platform.
Off is informal as well when used toindicate a source.
Formal style requires I borrowed it from (not off) my brother.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary,
usage:
of with an adjective after the adverb how or too
is largely characteristic of informalspeech:
How long of a drive will it be? It's too hot of a day for tennis.
This is often criticized in more formal situations. See also couple, off.
usage:
Usage guides generally reject
the phrasal preposition off of as redundant, recommending off without of.
The phrase, however, is relatively old in English, dating to the 16th century, and is widespread in speech,
including that of the educated. off of is rare in edited writing.
Collins COBUILD English Usage
of
1. possession and other relationships
Of is used for showing possession.
It can also be used to show other types of relationship
between people or things.
It was the home of a schoolteacher.
She was the sister of the Duke of Urbino.
At the top of the hill Jackson paused for breath.
You can use of in front of a possessive pronoun
such as mine, his, or theirs.
You do this to show that someone is one of a group of people or things connected with a particular person.
For example, instead of saying 'He is one of my friends',
you can say 'He is a friend of mine.'
He's a very good friend of ours.
I talked to a colleague of yours recently.
You can use of like this in front ofother possessives.
He's a friend of my mother's.
She was a cousin of Lorna Cook's.
The 's is sometimes omitted, especially inAmerican English.
He's a close friend of the President.
Be Careful!
Don't use 'of' in front of a personal pronoun
such as 'me', 'him', or 'them'.
Don't say, for example, 'the sister of me'.
Instead you use a possessive determiner
such as my, his, or their.
My sister visited us last week.
He had his hands in his pockets.
Consider the future of our society.
You don't usually use 'of' in front of short noun phrases.
Instead you use 's or the apostrophe '.
For example, instead of saying 'the car of my friend',
you say 'my friend's car'.
I can hear Raoul's voice.
This is Mr Duffield's sister.
We watched the President's speech.
The notice is in all our colleagues' offices.
See 's
2. descriptions
You can sometimes use of and a nounphrase
to describe something, instead of using an adjective
and a grading adverb.
For example, instead of saying that something is 'very interesting',
you can say that it is of great interest.
This is a rather formal use.
It will be of great interest to you.
The result is of little importance.
When you use an adjective to comment on an action,
you can put of and a pronoun afterthe adjective.
The pronoun refers to the person who has performed the action.
For example, you can say 'That was stupid of you'.
It was brave of them.
I'm sorry, that was silly of me.
3. works of art
Don't talk about a book 'of' a particular author,
or a piece of music 'of' a particular composer.
Instead, use by.
Have you read the latest book by Hilda Offen?
We'll hear some pieces by Mozart.
Similarly, you use by to indicate who painted a picture.
A picture of a particular person shows that person in the picture.
We saw the famous painting by Rubens, The Straw Hat.
The museum owns a 16th century painting of Henry VIII.
4. places
You can talk about the capital of a country, state, or province.
We went to Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia.
However, don't talk about a town or village 'of' a particular country or area. Instead, use in.
He lives in a small town in Southern Ecuador.
My favourite town in Shropshire is Ludlow.
You also use in, rather than 'of', after superlatives.
For example, you talk about 'the tallest building in Europe'.
Don't say 'the tallest building of Europe'.
These are the biggest lizards in the world.
Collins COBUILD English Usage
off
You use off as a preposition or adverb
to say that something is removed from an object or surface.
He took his hand off her arm.
I knocked the clock off the bedside table.
The paint was peeling off.
Off is also used as an adverb to say that someone leaves a place.
The sailors ran off.
He started the motor and drove off immediately.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Usage Notes
Is 'Could Of' an Accepted Form of 'Could Have'?
The verb sense of 'of' is in the dictionary, but not endorsed.
Pop quiz! What part of speech is the word of?
(Slight pause while we wait for the reader to click on the link provided in the earlier sentence, or to sit there, smugly basking in the certainty of knowing the answer.)
The answer (which is not a trick answer)
is that of is usually a preposition, but also may function as a verb,
typically when used as a substitutionfor have,
as in ‘I could of written it correct, but wanted to see what you’d say if I didn’t.’
(Slightly longer pause while we wait for the reader to erupt with anger over this use, and over the fact that we enter this sense of of in our dictionary, and then again after reader cross-references several other dictionaries and finds that most of them also provide an entry for of as an auxiliary verb).
The reason for why of came tobe used for have
is that the latter word (and even more so its contracted form, seen in could’ve, should’ve, would’ve) is unstressed when spoken.
There is very little phonetic difference between
“I could’ve paid attention in English class” and
“I could of paid attention in English class.”
The spoken version of this is far more common than the written one,
but there is considerable evidence of both.
This use, it should be noted, is widely shunned by usage guides, schoolteachers, people who send you annoying articles on social media about the declining state of education today, and well-nigh everyone else. So why do we define it?
Because of that considerable evidence mentioned in the last paragraph.
A scouting report written by Captain Isaac Beall during the Revolutionary War contains a couple of our earlier instances of the word used in this fashion, illustrating that of, while not terribly common in writing at that time, has been with us for well over two hundred years now.
I was inform’d by a Capt’n of Molitia that about Two Hundred would be Imbodyed by Mondy Nite a plenty of Good Pilets are amongs them—if I could of been join’d by a party of the Molitia which I apply’d for I would of attacted the body that lay in the English Nabourhood, I had not a guid nor could Get non tell the Next day.
—Isaac Beall, Letter to Adam Stephen, 20 Apr. 1777
The verb form of of begins to show up in print more often in the 19th century, generally when an author is attempting to replicate the speech of an uneducated person.
There lay the poor boy, dead enough: and all the doctors in Philadelphia couldn’t of been of no manner of service, so there warn’t any use in snivering and chafing.
—Jabez Rankin, Spirit of the Times, 26 Dec. 1840
Now, old fellow, you might of heard that we like to have got into a war with the British about some boundary or other.
—Portsmouth Journal of Literature and Politics, 5 Aug. 1843
The old man’s heart promptly quailed. He stood dumfounded and forgot Mandy and the other man’s wife in the face of his new foe. “If I’d of known it was you,” he said, “I wouldn’t of done it.”
—The San Diego Union and Daily Bee, 3 Apr. 1893
The use appears to have been common enough that it was lampooned in an article in the late 19th century, along with questionable uses of the past tense of to do.
Possible past tense of verb done. Singular—I might, could, would or should of jest plumb done gone and done it.
—The State (Columbia, SC), 16 Jul. 1893
There are many examples of prominent authors in the 20th century using forms such as could of, typically whenrendered as dialogue.
I could of ended marrying the boy, and moving, and being killed, I think, as a punishment … I understand it. —David Mamet, A Scene-Australia (from No One Will Be Immune), 1994
Sure, I could of let you die, but I didn’t. Naw, I kept you with me—off and on. —Langston Hughes, Soul Gone Home (in The Collected Works of Langston Hughes: Vol. 5), 2002
I don’t know how you could of thought that when everybody knowed she’s been married—and she had a son. —James Baldwin, The Amen Corner, 1954
A lot of people cry. They could of heard it … anywhere. —Beth Henley, The Debutante Ball, 1991
The amount of written evidence produced over more than two centuries means that we are inclined to define a word, but it does not mean that we recommend that it be employed (unless, of course, it is for a desired effect). Our usage guide, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage, addresses this matter in some detail and provides a stark assessment:
“you had better avoid it in your own writing.”
Common Errors In English Usage Dictionary
Of
“Of” is often shoved in where it doesn’t belong
in phrases like “not that big of a deal,”
and “not that great of a writer.” Just leave it out.
OF ___’S
Phrases combining “of” with a noun followed by “S” may seem redundant, since both indicate possession;
nevertheless, “a friend of Karen’s” is standard English,
just as “a friend of Karen” and “Karen’s friend” are.
Dictionary of Problem Words and Expression
Of & off
Until a few centuries ago, of and offrepresented different pronunciations of the same word.
Today, of has a basic meaning of “derived or coming from,”
Whereas off means “at or to a distance from a nearer place,” “no longer attached or supported.”
In constructions indicating possession,
of may followed by an uninflected noun (friend of my brother)
or by a noun or pronoun in the possessive case (friend of my brother’s, friend of his).
One objection to the use of of is that
it performs too many functions to be reallyuseful.
Another is that it is often used unnecessarily:
one should omit of in expression like “stay off of” and “alongside of”
Of is also used illiterately as a substitute for have (must of, should of)
Similarly, off should not be followed by from or of:
“He walked off (not off from or off of) the stage.”
Off is illiterate when used to indicate a source;
say “I got a meal from (not off) her,”
Avoid such cliches or slang terms
As ”off and on” “on and off,”
offbeat (“unconventional”),
“off the record,” and ofay (“a white person”).
