prepositions - How do you use "knack" in a sentence?


On this post here, it says:



Another word which comes to my mind is "Knack". It can be used to show how someone has a specific talent. Again as an example - Tim is good with musical instruments, and yet he doesn't have the knack to come up with original tunes like his brother has.



I'm an American, so I use the Merriam-Webster dictionary. It's just convenient.



1 a : a clever trick or stratagem b : a clever way of doing something 2 : a special ready capacity that is hard to analyze or teach 3 archaic : an ingenious device; broadly : TOY, KNICKKNACK synonyms see GIFT



I use the term myself with the for preposition or the of preposition, even though I think the for preposition may be more common.



Little Lucy has a knack for getting into trouble, but she's so cute and friendly that most people never notice.



I wish to know the distinctions among a knack for, a knack to, and a knack of.



Answer



This is really interesting!


In British English, knack of appears to be the more common use according to this Google N-Gram. Knack for is used almost exactly half as much currently, but it has only come into use recently --- previously, knack of very clearly dominated the field. However, both expressions combined have fallen in popularity since 1950.


In American English, according to this N-Gram, knack for appears to have been the preferred form since about 1980, and has been surging in popularity ever since, whereas knack of has retreated further into unpopularity, even though it used to be dominant in American English, like in British English.


In both American and British English, the expression knack to has been highly uncommon since the late 1700s and is likely considered a usage error today. It enjoyed a brief period of popularity in the late 1600s.


I strongly suggest you view the N-Grams I linked to above; they really are very illustrative and informative.


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