complain of/about

[englishhobby]

Here's a dictionary definition of complain of/complain about. Can't we use of in 1 and about in 2?



complain
1. 'complain about' If you complain about something, you say that it is wrong or unsatisfactory.
Mothers complained about the lack of play space.
She never complains about the weather.

Be Careful!
Don't use 'over' or 'on' after complain. Don't say, for example, 'Mothers complained over the lack of play space' or 'She never complains on the weather'.

2. 'complain of'

If you complain of a pain, you say that you have it.

 

[bhaisahab]

It wouldn't work for me.

 

[Boris Tatarenko]

How can we understand when we should use "of" and when "about"?

 

[englishhobby]

It depends on the context as in the dictionary definitions above. With "pain" and diseases "of" is used.
But it would be great to get some more examples for both usages from the native speakers.

And I have found that complain of is a phrasal verb:
complain of something

phrasal verb

to say that you feel ill or have a pain in a part of your body:

Dan's been complaining of severe headaches.

It still seems to me that there are some examples where you can use both prepositions. Are there?

 

[englishhobby]

It wouldn't work for me.

Thank you, Bhaisahab, I asked this question because I was told, like you say, that we can't use "of" in the first meaning of "complain". And I am still in doubt. Can't we say "He complained of slow service in the restaurant"?

Here's what else I've found:
Users complained of slow website response times. (It's written under the picture here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/2937922.stm)
Is the above sentence wrong? Or is it because it's Scottish news?

 

[BobK]

But WHY are you still in doubt? The answer's NO, although it sounds just odd rather than totally meaningless.

b

 

[englishhobby]

But WHY are you still in doubt? <...> it sounds just odd rather than totally meaningless.

Because I have found this:
Users complained of slow website response times. (It's written under the picture here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/2937922.stm)

Is it odd?

And this:
complain (to somebody) (about/of something)
I'm going to complain to the manager about this.The defendant complained of intimidation during the investigation.

(See http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/complain)

Is it also odd?

 

[emsr2d2]

To complain of = to state that something annoying is happening
To complain about = to make a complaint regarding something annoying which has happened

Dad complained of headaches = Dad said he had been having headaches (he was stating a fact, he wasn't necessarily "moaning"!)
Dad complained about poor service = Dad contacted a company to specifically complain/moan about their poor service.

 

[englishhobby]

With this in mind, can we complain of bad weather? (just stating a fact)?

 

[emsr2d2]

No, that doesn't work for me. I should have been more specific. I would only use it how I quoted it when a person is talking about something which is happening specifically or exclusively to them. Weather affects lots of people at the same time.

 

[BobK]

In each of those cases, the complaint is about something that has an effect on the well-being or satisfaction with an environment that s/he is exposed to. So I'd say they're both extensions of the complain of an illness usage.

(I agree with Ems about the weather, except in a case where the individual feels as though it's a personal affront: 'That's ALL I needed! Why does it always HAVE to rain on me?'. I think sometimes the choice of preposition reflects the attitude of the person affected.)

b