Possession with of: parts and things

The idea

Put the part or feature first, then of and the whole: the door of the house. This is common with things.

Examples

• The door of the house is blue.
• A bird is sitting on the roof of the station.
• We cleaned the windows of the old bus.
• The end of the film made us laugh.
• The colour of the wall looks different at night.
• The name of the café is on the menu.

Watch out

Do not reverse the order: the house of the door means something different. For people, a possessive such as Maya’s bag is often more natural.

Try it yourself

1. Choose the correct option. The ___ the box is open. (lid of / of lid)

   Show answer or example answer

   lid of

   lid of puts the lid before the box.

2. Choose the correct option. I like the ___ the song. (beginning of / of beginning)

   Show answer or example answer

   beginning of

   beginning of names the part before the song.

3. Choose the correct option. The legs ___ the table are wooden. (of / for)

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   of

   of connects the legs to the table.

Use it today

Describe two parts of a building using of.