{"id":3680,"date":"2022-05-21T19:00:13","date_gmt":"2022-05-21T19:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=3680"},"modified":"2022-05-21T19:00:13","modified_gmt":"2022-05-21T19:00:13","slug":"of-course-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/of-course-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Of Course \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you looking for a way to tell someone that you\u2019ll complete a task for them? You could always say \u201c<em>of course<\/em>\u201d as a polite way to let them know you comply with their request. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The meaning of the expression \u201c<em>of course<\/em>\u201d is a confirming statement saying you\u2019ll comply with someone\u2019s request or positively confirming their question. It\u2019s a form of pleasantries that includes the likes of thank you and please. When you tell someone \u201c<em>of course<\/em>,\u201d it\u2019s a nice way of saying \u201c<em>yes.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll use \u201c<em>of course<\/em>\u201d when you\u2019re telling someone that they can trust you and your judgment, and they were right to count on you for the task. It\u2019s a statement of absolute confidence, putting the other person's mind at ease.<\/p>\n<p>By saying \u201c<em>of course<\/em>\u201d in your confirmation, you\u2019re telling the person that you were pleased to do the task or action for them. It\u2019s a way of saying that you were willing with the job, and you would gladly do it again on request.<\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cOf course, I\u2019m coming to juniors recital this evening. I wouldn\u2019t miss it for the world. You can rely on me to be there, honey.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course, my job means everything to me. Without it, I have no income and no means to support myself. Please don\u2019t fire me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you mean I don\u2019t respect you? Of course, I do, you\u2019re the closest person to me in this entire club, and you know I value your opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll be there to support you. Of course, I think you\u2019re the best performer on the team. That\u2019s why you\u2019re my little baseball hero. Now get out there and show them what you\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course, things are going to be slow in the beginning. Don\u2019t lose your cool. It\u2019s going to take a few hours to get going.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course, I remembered to switch off the gas before we left the house. Do you think I\u2019m an idiot?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course you want it, I just opened the bag of chips, and now you\u2019re here begging at my side. You\u2019re a bad dog, Monty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>You know that I\u2019m going to be there for you. Of course I take my responsibilities to you seriously, I promise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3681\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Of-Course.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"128\" height=\"128\" srcset=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Of-Course.jpg 128w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Of-Course-120x120.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 128px) 100vw, 128px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-3682\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Of-Course2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"129\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>Language experts are unsure about the origin of the expression \"of course.\" Some experts believe it comes from the maritime industry. Being \"on course\" meant sailing along the panned route. The \"matter of course\" would be events taking place along the said course.<\/p>\n<p>However, some evidence suggests that the phrase originates from the 1540s. Of course appears to be an iteration of \"by course,\" which has been around since at least the 1300s, when pleasantries started to develop in English.<\/p>\n<p>The combined use of \"of course\" and \"as a matter of course\" appeared in the 1700s. The use of \"of course\" as a standalone phrase emerges in the 1800s.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Course | Meaning of course\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/feq1jXNh_e4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to Of Course<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>My pleasure.<\/li>\n<li>For sure.<\/li>\n<li>No problem.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to Of Course<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>No way.<\/li>\n<li>No chance.<\/li>\n<li>I\u2019 won\u2019t.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Of course.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say Of Course Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>Some people may use the phrase with a sarcastic tone when trying to be disrespectful and make it seem like what the other person is asking is obvious or wasting their time. While this is not incorrect, it's the less-common version.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase Of Course<\/h2>\n<p>You can use \"of course\" as a confirming statement when someone asks you if you're willing to carry out their request. The saying suits social and professional use, and it's more common to use it at work or around other people you don't know.<\/p>\n<p>It's another \"politeness\" invented as a way to be courteous to other people and show them respect. You could use it at work when your boss asks you to bring her a file. Use it at home when your partner asks you if you're coming to your kid's recital that evening.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Are you looking for a way to tell someone that you\u2019ll complete a task for them? You could always say \u201cof course\u201d as a polite way to let them know you comply with their request. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression. Meaning The meaning of the expression \u201cof course\u201d is a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3680"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3680"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3853,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3680\/revisions\/3853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}