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Of

Generally, phrases connected by of sound most natural when they are intact. The company completed the conversion to electricity of its heating system is not nearly so smooth as The company completed the conversion of its heating system to electricity. Also: died of a heart attack yesterday, not died yesterday of a heart attack.

Drop the of in constructions like this: She uses the name of Chris. The of suggests that she is using someone else’s actual name. Similarly, replace of with a comma in his hometown of Cocoa.

Source: The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage, 1999, by The New York Times Company.

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