1. Preposition:
* Showing possession: "The book of the author" (means the author's book)
* Showing part of something: "A slice of pizza"
* Indicating material or origin: "A dress of silk"
* Expressing comparison: "He is a man of great courage"
* Indicating time or place: "The battle of Hastings"
2. Part of a Phrase:
* Prepositional phrase: "The cat is on top of the table." ("Of the table" functions as a prepositional phrase modifying "top")
* Adjective phrase: "A man of great intelligence." ("Of great intelligence" modifies "man")
* Adverbial phrase: "They arrived of their own accord." ("Of their own accord" modifies "arrived")
3. Idiomatic Uses:
* "Of course": Expressing certainty.
* "A lot of": Indicating a large quantity.
* "Instead of": Expressing substitution.
* "Because of": Expressing cause.
4. As a Subordinating Conjunction (rare):
In archaic language, "of" can act as a conjunction: "I will sing of my love." (meaning "I will sing about my love").
Important to note:
* "Of" can be a very flexible word. Its exact function often depends on the context of the sentence.
* Pay attention to the words surrounding "of" to determine its role in the sentence.
* Don't confuse "of" with the possessive form "of's", which is incorrect in standard English.
Let me know if you have a specific example you'd like to analyze, and I can help you identify the function of "of" in that sentence!