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deserving of

English translation: to deserve smth (of smb); to be deserving of smth (from smb)

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:deserving of
Selected answer:to deserve smth (of smb); to be deserving of smth (from smb)
Entered by: Caryl Swift

17:25 Apr 7, 2007
English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO]
Art/Literary - Linguistics
English term or phrase: deserving of
I'm sure he is deserving of better treatment.


is "of" correct usage after deserve?I have never seen anything like "deserve of"
hesmaun
it is correct
Explanation:
We can say 'He deserves better treatment' or, using a more formal and literary register, 'He's deserving of better treatment'.

In the same way, we can have 'He deserves better of you than that'.

I'll post some references in in just a few moments

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 14 mins (2007-04-07 17:39:33 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The thing is that there are two different structures here; a structure with a verb and a structure with an adjective.

The verb works like this. It's a transitive verb so it needs an object:

'He deserves better treatment'

However, we can't say:

'He deserves of better treatment'.

The verb can only be collocated with 'of' when what it is that is deserved comes from someone or something:

'He deserves better of his employers than that' (e.g. what he has received from them is not good enough).

'The planet does not deserve this of its inhabitants (e.g. what it receives from us).

The gerund form here is an adjective:

"He is deserving"

and as such, requires the collocation with 'of'.

Here are some examples:



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 mins (2007-04-07 17:40:39 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://tinyurl.com/33e5ed

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 mins (2007-04-07 17:41:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I hope that helps?
Selected response from:

Caryl Swift
Poland
Local time: 03:48
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
3 +11it is correct
Caryl Swift
4 +7deserves
Kim Metzger
4I'm sure that he deserves better treatment.
Will Matter


  

Answers


2 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +7
deserve of
deserves


Explanation:
"deserving of" is also correct, but it means the same thing as deserves.

Kim Metzger
Mexico
Local time: 19:48
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 187

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Mike Gogulski
1 min
agree  Manuela Junghans
5 mins
agree  RHELLER: they are both correct
15 mins
agree  Mark Nathan
38 mins
agree  Trudy Peters: deserves of better treatment is wrong
59 mins
agree  TranslateThis
13 hrs
agree  Alaa Zeineldine
3 days 7 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
deserve of
I'm sure that he deserves better treatment.


Explanation:
I agree that the way that your original sentence is worded might sound strange to a non-native speaker. It does make sense and it is understandable but it might be better to simply reword it. An alternate suggestion (with the same meaning) is given here. HTH.

Will Matter
United States
Local time: 18:48
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 24
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +11
deserve of
it is correct


Explanation:
We can say 'He deserves better treatment' or, using a more formal and literary register, 'He's deserving of better treatment'.

In the same way, we can have 'He deserves better of you than that'.

I'll post some references in in just a few moments

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 14 mins (2007-04-07 17:39:33 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The thing is that there are two different structures here; a structure with a verb and a structure with an adjective.

The verb works like this. It's a transitive verb so it needs an object:

'He deserves better treatment'

However, we can't say:

'He deserves of better treatment'.

The verb can only be collocated with 'of' when what it is that is deserved comes from someone or something:

'He deserves better of his employers than that' (e.g. what he has received from them is not good enough).

'The planet does not deserve this of its inhabitants (e.g. what it receives from us).

The gerund form here is an adjective:

"He is deserving"

and as such, requires the collocation with 'of'.

Here are some examples:



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 mins (2007-04-07 17:40:39 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://tinyurl.com/33e5ed

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 mins (2007-04-07 17:41:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I hope that helps?

Caryl Swift
Poland
Local time: 03:48
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 16
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  David Knowles: Yes, I think this is what the asker wants to know, and I like your clear explanation.
11 mins
  -> I hope so - otherwise I'll have bored them to sobs for nothing! Thank you :-)//And thank you again (the bit about the explanation wasn't there when I replied before) :-)
agree  Richard Benham: A bit long-winded, but correct.//To be fair, it's hard not to be long-winded when it's not clear what the question is--you feel you need to cover everything...!
31 mins
  -> Sorry about that. Thank you :-)//That, Richard, is an excellent story - to which I shall stick like glue!!!
agree  Nesrin: "deserving" here is an adjective meaning "worthy": "deserving of" = "worthy of"
34 mins
  -> Exactly! Thank you, Nesrin :-)
agree  Mark Nathan: to be deserving of something
39 mins
  -> Thank you :-)
agree  Jack Doughty
1 hr
  -> Thank you
agree  Will Matter: It's a little bit early for Christmas greetings, isn't it? Nothing like 'pre-emption' though, I suppose. ;0)
1 day 1 hr
  -> Dziękuję i Wesołych Świąt :-)//Never look back, that's my motto... :-)
agree  zax
1 day 2 hrs
  -> Thank you :-)
agree  Pham Huu Phuoc
1 day 8 hrs
  -> Thank you :-)
agree  ErichEko ⟹⭐
2 days 12 hrs
  -> Thank you :-)
agree  Alaa Zeineldine
3 days 7 hrs
  -> Thank you :-)
agree  Alfa Trans (X)
7 days
  -> Thank you :-)
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



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