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“The tenor in the opera last night was very good.” “Yes, he’s a favorite ____. A. to me B. to mine C. of mine D. of me(TOEFL)
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A friend ____ came to see me yesterday. A. of me B. of mine C. for mine D. for me(EPT)
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“Who are those boys?” “Those boys are friends of ____. A. them B. they C. their D. theirs
我知道上列三道题的正确答案分别为 of mine 和 theirs。但是，我不明白，为什么“of + 代词宾格”结构(of me, of them)不能表示所有关系。这似乎是不符合逻辑的。the gravity of the earth, the daughter of a man, 如果用 it 代替 the earth, 用 him 代替 a man, 不正好是 the gravity of it, the daughter of him 吗？
这主要是一个惯用法问题。R. Quirk 等把 the daughter of him 称作古怪的句子。但这绝不是说，“of + 代词宾格”结构永远不能表示所有关系，也绝不是说所有的“of + 代词宾格”结构都是错误的，而只是说，这种结构只能用在极其有限的固定搭配中：
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I can't understand it for the life of me. (CGEL) 我一辈子也不能理解这件事。
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I don't trust the likes of him. (CGEL) 我不相信他这一类人。
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The accident was the death of him. 这次事故使他丧生。 (参见 double genitive)