the difference between "know about" and "know of"

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shiqangpan
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the difference between "know about" and "know of"

Post by shiqangpan »

According to Cambridge Dictionary https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dic ... -of-sb-sth, "know of sb/sth" means "to have heard of someone or something and be able to give a small amount of information about him, her, or it".

Assume I'm watching the movie "Million Dollar Baby" when a friend of mine drops by me. He points at a character and asks me
Do you know of this guy?
I answers
I know a little about Morgan Freeman, he is an Oscar winner.
Are "know about" and "know of" used correctly in the conversation above?
patron
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Re: the difference between "know about" and "know of"

Post by patron »

1. Do you know of this guy?

I think that the sentence above sounds a little unusual to me.

I would ask.:
Do you know that guy
meaning do you know who he is (in this context this doesn't mean that I am asking if you personally know him ).

The phrasal verb know of = I have heard of the person before (briefly) and don't know much about the person.

Know of is used a lot with pronouns,and improper nouns. lOOK AT THE REPLIES BELOW.
Have you heard of Donald Trump? I know of him.
Have you heard of the Jones? I know of them. They live down the street.
I am having problems with my car. I know of a good mechanic who can fix your car.
I have a pain in my leg. I know of a great doctor who will heal you.


2. I know a little about Morgan Freeman, he is an Oscar winner. :ok:

Yes, this sounds good.

know about here is stating that you know something about morgan Freeman (what he is, what he does etc).
OccamsRazor
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Re: the difference between "know about" and "know of"

Post by OccamsRazor »

"know of" is shallow. Do you recognize the name?

"know about" is deeper. Do you know about dark energy?

Well, I've heard of dark energy, but I don't know anything about it.
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