"Off" and "Of"

search our site by Craig Shrives

What Is the Difference between "Off" and "Of"?

"Off" and "of" are easy to confuse because of the inconsistency in English pronunciation.

• "Off" is the opposite of "on." (It is pronounced off.) For example:
• Get off!
• The plumber turned the water off.
• "Of" is most commonly used to show possession or to show what something is made of. (It is pronounced ov.) For example:
• It is the wish of the fairies.
(Here, "of" shows possession. It tells us the wish belongs to the fairies.)
• We were climbing a wall of ice.
(Here, "of" tells us what the wall is made of.)

Among English speakers, the confusion between "off" and "of" rarely occurs in speech. Any doubt over these words is usually eliminated by remembering how they are pronounced.

• "Off" is pronounced off.
• "Of" is pronounced ov.

More about "Off" and "Of"

The words "off" and "of" are both prepositions. (Note: Here at Grammar Monster, we have found that explaining the grammatical functions of these words is not usually helpful because anyone who can understand the explanation rarely confuses the words.)

Off

The word "off" is the opposite of the word "on."

Example sentences with "off":

• Turn it on. Turn it off.
• Put it on the table. Take it off the table.

The word "off" is commonly seen as part of a phrasal verb, which is a single verb made up of more than one word. A phrasal verb has a main verb and an accompanying word (like "off"). The accompanying word can be either a preposition or a particle (a type of adverb).

When the accompanying word introduces a prepositional phrase, it is classified as a preposition. When it does not, it is a particle. For example (phrasal verbs shaded):

• Wipe that paint off the wall.
(In this example, the prepositional phrase is "off the wall." The word "off" is a preposition.)
• Stop showing off.
(Here, "off" is a particle.)

Of

Here are the four most common uses of the word "of":

• (1) To show possession
• The hand of God
• A part of me
• (2) To state what something is made of
• A splinter of wood
• A heart of gold
• (3) To show what something contains
• A cup of coffee
• A plate of figs
• (4) To show a point of reckoning
• North of the wall
• West of New York

Don't Write "Get Off Of"

With verbs like "to get off," "to live off," and "to go off," there is no need to add "of." With these verbs (called phrasal verbs), the "off" acts as a preposition. There is no need to add your own preposition (i.e., don't write "off of"). For example:

• Get off the table.
• Get off of the table.
• She lived off the land.
• She lived off of the land.
• She is going off you.
• She is going off of you.

Ready for the Test?