"of what"

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moongeegee - 08 May 2009 12:38 GMT

Would anyone please explain how to use "of what" correctly.
I have been searching through Internet and hoping to find some
answers, but failed.
Are there any rules of using "of what" which I can follow. For
instance, do I need to compose a complete sentence follow by "of
what", then follow by another complete sentence ?

The following excerpt is from ABC news, an example of using "of what".

-- quote --

Oprah becomes test of what an endorsement means. The more she does,
the more her first venture into presidential politics will test the
limits of what a
personal endorsement can - or can't - do.

-- unquote --

Thanks in advance.

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Derek Turner - 08 May 2009 13:16 GMT

> Would anyone please explain how to use "of what" correctly.I have been
> searching through Internet and hoping to find some answers, but failed.
> Are there any rules of using "of what" which I can follow. For
> instance, do I need to compose a complete sentence follow by "of what",
> then follow by another complete sentence ?

No, you have completely mis-parsed the example you give. 'of' belongs to
limits and 'what' belongs to the remainder of the sentence.

[I am testing the limits of] [what I can do]
[I am testing the limits of] [my endurance]
[I am wondering] [what I might do in those circumstances]

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Ian Jackson - 08 May 2009 16:03 GMT

>> Would anyone please explain how to use "of what" correctly.I have been
>> searching through Internet and hoping to find some answers, but failed.
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>[I am testing the limits of] [my endurance]
>[I am wondering] [what I might do in those circumstances]

There's also the questioning form.
"What are you speaking of" in more formal English is "Of what are you
speaking?" It is in the same 'family' as "of which", " of whom", "of
where" etc.

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Ian

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John Dunlop - 08 May 2009 18:30 GMT

Derek Turner:

> 'of' belongs to limits and 'what' belongs to the remainder of the
> sentence.
>
> [I am testing the limits of] [what I can do]

I agree that "of what" is not a constituent here, but I think your
brackets are wrong. "Of" heads a prepositional phrase, and it is this
phrase, not the preposition itself, that modifies "the limits":

the limits [of [what I can do]]

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John

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / May 2009

"of what"