A second goal of the afternoon for Rashford.

[Kontol]

I'm confused by the construction of "of the noun" in a sentence. I always think that "of" means "in" and "the" means "this". Is my understanding right? This structure is often seen in sentences ...of the day/the week/the afternoon, etc.

A second goal of the afternoon for Rashford.
A second goal of the game for David.
Manchester United make their first change of the afternoon.
Word of the day.
Man of the match.

I always interpret "of the afternoon"/"of the game" to mean in this afternoon/in this game.
Word of the day = Word in this day.
Man of the match = man in this game.

 

[Tarheel]

The second goal of the afternoon for Radford -- the second goal he scored/has scored that afternoon
The second goal of the game for David - the second goal he scored/has scored that game
Word of the day - word for that day
Man of the match - the standout player for the match

Do you see what they have in common?

 

[jutfrank]

A second goal of the afternoon for Rashford.

It's hard to believe you don't understand this. In fact, I'm sure you do.

Here, the afternoon means 'the match'.

The sentence as a whole means that Rashford already scored one goal and now he's just scored another one.

 

[Kontol]

My question is about the use of "of the". Does "of the" mean "in this?" When should I use the structure? I usually say "in this game", "in this day" and "in this afternoon". For example:

Manchester United make their first change of the afternoon.
Who is a player of the match?

I usually use "in this" in such sentence.

... of the game = in this game.
... of the day = in this day.
... of the afternoon = in this afternoon.

 

[jutfrank]

My question is about the use of "of the". Does "of the" mean "in this?"

No.

When should I use the structure?

... of the game = in this game.
... of the day = in this day.

Never.

Read posts #2 and #3 again.

I always think that "of" means "in" and "the" means "this". Is my understanding right?

That question doesn't make sense. How are we supposed to know what you think 'in' and 'this' means?

 

[Kontol]

Read posts #2 and #3 again.

Yes, I understand. "The" means "that" there, doesn't it? Could I substitute "of" for "in" in this case?

Manchester United make their first change in the afternoon.
Who is a player in the match?
Word in the day.

 

[Piscean]

No.

 

[Kontol]

Could you explain the reason why?

 

[Piscean]

Because 'of the day' is idiomatic there. The other forms aren't.

 

[emsr2d2]

Who is a player in the match?

This one particularly makes no sense. The answer to that question would be the name of any player of the 22 on the pitch.
Who is the player of the match? = Who is the best player who played in this match?

 

[Kontol]

I know the construction of "- of + the + noun" is an idiom such as
Of the year.
Of the week.
Of the day.
Of the moment.
A thing or person of the year/the week is one that has been chosen as the best in a particular area or activity for that year/that week.

Does it mean the same thing as "their second switch of the afternoon?" To mean their second switch as the best in this afternoon.

Manchester United make their second switch of the afternoon.

 

[emsr2d2]

I know the construction of "- of + the + noun" is an idiom such as
Of the year.
Of the week.
Of the day.
Of the moment.
A thing or person of the year/the week is one that has been chosen as the best in a particular area or activity for that year/that week.

Does it mean the same thing as "their second switch of the afternoon?" To mean their second switch as the best in this afternoon.

Manchester United make their second switch of the afternoon.

No. The Man Utd example has nothing to do with "the best". It's simply the second time they have subbed someone out/in that afternoon (that match).

 

[jutfrank]

A second goal of the afternoon for Rashford.
A second goal of the game for David.
Manchester United make their first change of the afternoon.

These three have a similar meaning.

Word of the day.
Man of the match.

These two are similar to each other but very different from the three above.

 

[Kontol]

These three have a similar meaning

Could I substitute "of the" for "in this" in those sentences?

Man Utd make their second change in this afternoon/in this game.

 

[Kontol]

No. The Man Utd example has nothing to do with "the best". It's simply the second time they have subbed someone out/in that afternoon (that match).

I'm still confused by the use of the word "the" here. Does it mean "this" in this case?
...of the game = this game.
... of this afternoon = this afternoon.

 

[Piscean]

Could I substitute "of the" for "in this" in those sentences?

Man Utd make their second change in this afternoon/in this game.

No.

If you understand the sentence, why to you want to change it?

 

[Kontol]

No.

If you understand the sentence, why to you want to change it?

I understand the sentence, but I always say "in the + noun" not "of the + noun". Since "— in the ..." is incorrect, could you give a rule when we use the construction "—of the ...?"

 

[jutfrank]

could you give a rule when we use the construction "—of the ...?"

I would say no. The preposition of has too many different meanings. Think about the meaning of any sentence you hear as a whole in its natural context.

 

[emsr2d2]

I'm still confused by the use of the word "the" here. Does it mean "this" in this case?
...of the game = this game.
... of this afternoon = this afternoon.

It's not possible to try and give an all-encompassing meaning for "the" in any context.

He was the second substitute of the game. ("The game" refers to whichever game is being discussed, regardless of when it happened.)
Man United make their second substitute of the game. ("The game" refers to the match being played right now - this is clear from the use of the present tense.)
That was the best goal of the afternoon. (This could be said just after the goal is scored, while the match is still happening, or after the match has finished.)