Can we change “of” by “has” in every sentence?
The pain is of a degree that requires morphine. In many cases, this pain is painless and must be treated.
Can we change be + of with has?
For pain it is recommended morphine. Wherever possible.
I know in every sentence we can not do that in every sentence with of… then, what is the rule here that allows us to make this change in some sentences? Thank
you very much for a very informative blog.
The pain is of a degree is not idiomatic. One has to start with a grammatical sentence. In case if I want to start with a generic sentence, then do it first? The X of Y and the form of a structure will be given to an English person.
Idiomatically, we would say: The degree of (the) pain calls for morphine. How many times can do it, and how much of it is necessary? The extent of the damage is sad. Nouns
qualifying the intensity of some condition: The
level of The
intensity of The
extent of The
degree of The
lack of This
is not a full list, it is merely illustrative of the structure here…
to be of and to have express two different ideas although in some contexts they may seem similar
-
to have is a verb describing possession of the subject.
-
To be of describes a property of the subject.
“Degree” is describing the quality of the pain. We would not think of a degree as something the pain has/possesses.
Thus,
The pain is of a degree that calls for morphine
would be understood.
An unnatural pain has a degree that will call
for morphine.
If you want a word to say “is”, you
could say: The pain has an intensity that calls
for constant morphine.
