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I see such sentences all the time and I'd like to learn more about their
grammatical structure (e.g. how they are described in grammatical terms), their
meaning and how to use them in different contexts.

Please let me know whether I can be of help.

The part that I am interested in learning about is be of.
There is a similar question here but the questioner was asking only whether it
was correct or not, but I would like to learn the meaning more broadly as I
described in my opening sentence.
prepositions syntactic-analysis

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asked Nov 5 '11 at 16:38

Tarik
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 That sounds like a word for word translation of a foreign expression, such as the Italian "essere
d'aiuto", rather than something a native would say (e.g., "if I can help you") – badp Nov 5 '11 at 17:00
 3
You might find iit simpler if you parse of help as the syntactic unit - which could be replaced by helpful,
useful, etc. - rather than seizing on the fact that of help can in principle be completely omitted (which is
grammatically quite a significant change, in that help thereby becomes a verb rather than a
noun). – FumbleFingers Nov 5 '11 at 17:06
 2
My impression is that "be of" can only go with a limited number of nouns. Googling, I find "be of use", "be
of service", "be of aid", "be of help", "be of benefit", "be of interest", "be of age", "be of influence", "be of
value", "be of account", "be of danger", "be of relevance". But to choose an arbitrary noun, I don't think
"be of security" would be used by native English speakers. – Peter Shor Nov 5 '11 at 17:07
 1
I agree with Fumble and Peter. To be of help is just an idiomatic phrase, in modern
English. – Cerberus_Reinstate_Monica Nov 5 '11 at 17:59 
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2 Answers

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25
As far as I can tell, there are only a limited number of nouns that work with "be
of". I would classify them as idioms. I am listing the most common ones I can
think of, where commonness is judged by Google Ngrams. I have grouped them
into sets of near synonyms. There are

be of use,
be of help,
be of aid,
be of service,
be of assistance;
these idioms mean that something/someone can be used, can help, can aid, can
serve, or can assist. There are also

be of relevance,
be of importance,
which mean that something is relevant to/important for the current subject of
discussion. Also,

be of value,
be of benefit;
these mean that something is valuable, usually with respect to the current
subject of discussion. Also

be of interest,
which means that something is interesting.

And for a slightly different "be of" idiom, there is

be of age,
which means that someone has reached adulthood.

If you are learning English, it should be fairly easy to figure out what one of
these constructions means. But I would suggest that if you use this construction,
you should treat it like an idiom, and memorize the specific phrase(s) you want
to use. Many nouns describing attributes, like "security" or "tact", cannot be
used with "be of". (Google books gives a few instances for "be of security"; it
seems to have been used occasionally in the 19th century, but it sounds very
strange today.)
RESOLVED

What is the meaning of "be of"? How to use it in a sentence?

Mustafa

Jun 12, 2019

For learning · English / Written in · English / Category · Language

" The ordinary people were of Saxon blood, but the nobles were all French" When I check the similar
examples on the internet, I came to the conclusion that it has the almost same meaning as "to have".
However, when I see "Can I be of any help?", I got confused a bit. I appreciate it if you can elaborate
the meaning and usage of this phrase. Thanks in advance

0 2

Answers • 2
Jordan Stubblefield
Jun 12, 2019

Best Answer

Chosen by the Asker

Be of: possess intrinsically; give rise to. Basically, it IS or HAS or GENERATES whatever it is "of".
Examples: ‘this work is of great interest and value’ (it's interesting and valuable) ‘The story was of
particular interest to me as a New Zealander living in Australia.’ (it's interesting) ‘Listen and make the
other person feel that what he or she is saying is of interest to you.’ (is interesting) ‘The school has a
number of buildings listed as being of historic interest.’ (the history is interesting) ‘Warrington
council has recognised the building as being of historical interest.’ (the history is interesting) ‘Why
people read what they read and watch what they watch has recently been of interest to me.’ (it's
interesting) ‘The software will be of interest to schools and museums, as well as town planners.’ ‘The
rise in the rate of suicide amongst young people is of constant concern to our agency.’ ‘They were
getting historic items that they felt were of too great an importance to sell on and should be on
public display.’ ‘Sgt Brown added the cars involved were of little value with only one new vehicle
being seized over the past six months.’ ‘Many of the calls were of a difficult nature from distressed
families with moving reports of missing people.’

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Cole
Jun 12, 2019

Edited

The construction "be of + noun" is virtually the same as "be + adjective" except it sounds more
formal. You can think of it as to be of a certain class or of a certain type. The book is of interest = The
book is interesting. (The book is typified/classified as interesting) Can I be of any help? = Can I be
helpful? (Can I be classified as helpful) *note that this is a set phrase. Nobody would ever say "Can I
be helpful?" in this context The ordinary people were of Saxon blood = The ordinary people were
Saxon (They were classified as Saxon)

  SUM      PIC      XRF      DEV      STU 

Verse  (Click for Chapter)

New International Version
I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.

New Living Translation

As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I
don’t even trust my own judgment on this point.

English Standard Version

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact,
I do not even judge myself.

Berean Study Bible

I care very little, however, if I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even
judge myself.

Berean Literal Bible

But to me, it is the smallest matter that I be examined by you or by a human court. In fact,
neither do I examine myself.
New American Standard Bible
But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact,
I do not even examine myself.

New King James Version

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I
do not even judge myself.

King James Bible

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I
judge not mine own self.

Christian Standard Bible

It is of little importance to me that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I
don't even judge myself.

Contemporary English Version

it doesn't matter to me if I am judged by you or even by a court of law. In fact, I don't judge
myself.

Good News Translation

Now, I am not at all concerned about being judged by you or by any human standard; I don't
even pass judgment on myself.

Holman Christian Standard Bible

It is of little importance to me that I should be evaluated by you or by any human court. In fact, I
don't even evaluate myself.

International Standard Version

It is a very small thing to me that I should be examined by you or by any human court. In fact, I
don't even evaluate myself.

NET Bible
So for me, it is a minor matter that I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not
even judge myself.

New Heart English Bible

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by man's judgment. Yes, I
do not judge my own self.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English

But to me this is a slight matter that I am judged by you or by any man. I do not even judge
myself.

GOD'S WORD® Translation

It means very little to me that you or any human court should cross-examine me. I don't even
ask myself questions.

New American Standard 1977

But to me it is a very small thing that I should be examined by you, or by any human court; in
fact, I do not even examine myself.

King James 2000 Bible

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I
judge not my own self.

American King James Version

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yes, I
judge not my own self.

American Standard Version

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I
judge not mine own self.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But to me it is a very small thing to be judged by you, or by man's day; but neither do I judge my
own self.

Darby Bible Translation

But for me it is the very smallest matter that I be examined of you or of man's day. Nor do I even
examine myself.

English Revised Version

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I
judge not mine own self.

Webster's Bible Translation

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by man's judgment: yes, I
judge not my own self.

Weymouth New Testament

I however am very little concerned at undergoing your scrutiny, or that of other men; in fact I do
not even scrutinize myself.

World English Bible

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by man's judgment. Yes, I
don't judge my own self.

Young's Literal Translation

and to me it is for a very little thing that by you I may be judged, or by man's day, but not even
myself do I judge,