think of

[notletrest]

"The manager just told me to say anything that I could think about the city."Someone holds we should add of before about.But I think the original is correct with that clause as an appositive clause of "anything."Am I right?Thank you!

[Frank Antonson]

"The manager just told me to say anything that I could think about the city."Someone holds we should add of before about.But I think the original is correct with that clause as an appositive clause of "anything."Am I right?Thank you!

The "of" needs to be there. There is not appositive here. If there were, you could take one or the other of the two things in apposition out and the sentence would still work. There is no duplication here. "That I could think of" limits "anything" and works as an adjective clause.

[notletrest]

The "of" needs to be there. There is not appositive here. If there were, you could take one or the other of the two things in apposition out and the sentence would still work. There is no duplication here. "That I could think of" limits "anything" and works as an adjective clause.

In my opinion , about is equal to of.The whole that clause is in appositon to anything.Why is such an explanation not right?Thanks!

[Frank Antonson]

...think of about the city... It all needs to be there.

I still see no appositive.

I can "tell you what I think about the city". I suppose I can even tell you "anything I think about the city", but it makes for a strange sentence.

[notletrest]

...think of about the city... It all needs to be there.

I still see no appositive.

I can "tell you what I think about the city". I suppose I can even tell you "anything I think about the city", but it makes for a strange sentence.

Your ideas made me see something.Grammatically tell anything that I think about the city is correct,but semantically it is not good.
Thank you a lot!