Does "of" in the following sentences have a special meaning?
Does "of" in the following sentences have a special meaning? If "of" is removed, will the meaning of the original sentence change?
1.The others said (of) Squealer that he could turn black into white.
2.He claimed to know（of） the existence of a mysterious country called Sugarcandy Mountain.

Question

Does "of" in the following sentences have a special meaning?
Does "of" in the following sentences have a special meaning? If "of" is removed, will the meaning of the original sentence change?
1.The others said (of)  Squealer that he could turn black into white.
2.He claimed to know（of） the existence of a mysterious country called Sugarcandy Mountain.

Answer

Here 'of' means 'about'.  If you remove 'of,' the sentences become incorrect, ungrammatical.

to say of someone or something = to say about someone or something
to know of someone or something = to know about ...

Answer

Just to give you another piece of information, you could say what you mean even without "of" as follows. ／1. The others said that Squealer could turn black into white. ／2. He claimed that he knew the existence of a mysterious country called Sugarcandy Mountain.

Answers · 2

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