A. Examples of 'of' Phrases in English

An “of” phrase in English is a phrase in which two nouns are joined by the word “of”:

  • the house of my father
  • the tail of the dog
  • a bucket of water
  • the song of Miriam

The technical word for this kind of construction is a genitive construction.

Notice that in English, some “of” phrases can also be expressed by adding -’s to the noun that follows “of”:

  • my father’s house
  • the dog’s tail
  • Miriam’s song
  • the children’s ball

The same relationship can be expressed by a “possessive pronoun,” such as “his,” “your,” “my,” or “our.” This is also a genitive construction, even though it is not signalled by “of.”

  • his house
  • its tail
  • her song

English uses many “of” phrases, and other genitive constructions; Greek, the original language of the Divine Services, uses the genitive construction even more than English does.