Join In
Twitter
YouTube
Weekly Newsletter
Libraries
A-Z Grammatical Terms
A-Z Confused Words
FAQs by Writers
A-Z Awkward Plurals
Punctuation Lessons
Common Mistakes
(ordered by seriousness) ESL Vocabulary Lists Parts of Speech Lists A-Z Idioms and Proverbs Tests and Games Top Tip Install a grammar checker
for your browser
(ordered by seriousness) ESL Vocabulary Lists Parts of Speech Lists A-Z Idioms and Proverbs Tests and Games Top Tip Install a grammar checker
for your browser
"Off" and "Of"
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.
- We were climbing a wall of ice.

- "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.
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.
How Many Fs Are There?
How many times does the letter F appear in the bold text below?FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.
Ready for the Test?
Help Us Improve Grammar Monster
- Do you disagree with something on this page?
- Did you spot a typo?
Find Us Quicker!
- When using a search engine (e.g., Google, Bing), you will find Grammar Monster quicker if you add #gm to your search term.