as ADJ of a N as

[RonButters at AOL.COM]

In a message dated 2/19/04 2:53:30 PM, zwicky at CSLI.STANFORD.EDU writes:


> my experience is also that those who have only the "of"-less
> construction tend to notice occurrences of the "of" construction, to
> comment on them, and even to deride them, while those who are heavy
> (perhaps exclusive) users of the "of" construction simply don't notice
> instances of the "of"-less construction, and are often astonished to be
> told that they don't talk/write quite like many other people and that
> editors and teachers might even object to their usage.  this is a
> common pattern for nonstandard vs. standard variants.
> 

As one of the "of"-using folks, I agree with this to this extent: I have 
often noticed that others "leave out" the "of," but I tended to think this was 
just a styulistic variant of no consequence, like the presence or absence of "to" 
with "help" (e.g., "I need to help my brother to get his shoes on") or (in 
the South) with "have" (e.g., "Do you want me to have him to call you?" and 
"They almost had the ceiling to fall on their heads!"). I don't recall ever being 
derided for my of-fulness. I have no idea what my written practice is.