Why is it necessary to add the "of" in "approved of "?

Question

They surely wouldn't have approved my decision.

This sounds like perfect English to me.

But after searching on Google, I realized I was wrong, that I had to write instead:

They surely wouldn't have approved of my decision.

Why?

score 29 · Accepted Answer · answered May 14 '15 at 12:33

29

Both sentences exist but with different meanings. "They surely wouldn't have approved my decision" means "they would not have agreed to accept it" so they had the authority to reject it. "They surely wouldn't have approved of my decision" means "They would not have considered it to have been a good decision". So they didn't like it but couldn't necessarily have it changed.

answered May 14 '15 at 12:33

david piper

801
6
2

3

"approved of" is a phrasal verb with a different meaning than "approved" – Eponymous May 14 '15 at 16:20

score 12 · Answer 2 · answered May 14 '15 at 17:21

12

Approved implies actual control or supervision: the manager approved my expenses.

Approved of does not; rather, it implies merely an opinion: I approve of his choice of tie.

answered May 14 '15 at 17:21

BlokeDownThePub

121
2

Why is it necessary to add the "of" in "approved of "?

2 Answers2