prepositions
In the given sentence, is the preposition of more appropriate than the preposition for?
The international monetary fund maintained its forecast of / for
weak global growth.
According to my understanding, of should be used as the news of weak global growth makes up the forecast and hence is a part of the forecast. Of is used to show that something is a part of something, for example:
The mountain ranges of India.
Similarly, is it " Forecast of weather" or "Forecast for weather"?
If for = in support of seems "weird" in this context, try thinking of it as heading for, pointing in the direction of, as in "I'm for bed". But I think it's just as "intuitive" to see OP's example as short for...
The weather forecast is for it (the weather) to be sun/sunny.
Note that there's no real need for a preposition at all in OP's exact context, and semantically it's irrelevant whether it's sun or sunny (both are perfectly valid and commonly used).
Let's get the easier question out of the way first. When you are confused, you can use about or on, but I think about is the "safer" choice. Behold the ngram.
As for for the taking, let's say that you need a job, and I own a business. I might tell you:
I have a job opening. It's yours for the taking.
or:
I have a job opening. It's there for the taking.
Basically I'm telling you that you could get a job with me, if that option sounds good to you. I could easily substitute "if you want it" for "for the taking".
Looking at the ngram, we see that common ways to use the phrase include
I won't say those are the ONLY way the phrase can be used, but an answer can't delve into every possible usage of a phrase. Those three are a good start.
There's also a relatively high number of
but those come mostly from legal documents; that's not a wording generally heard in everyday conversation.
Best Answer
The choice of preposition will depend on the context.
Thus, especially when the forecast deals with a product, time or location, and when no specific amount or range is mentioned, you will probably choose for:
On the other hand, when amounts, ranges or weather phenomena are concerned, of is more likely:
In some contexts, both of and for are possible:
Although we would speak of the forecast for global growth in general, in your example I would use the forecast of weak global growth, using of ahead of weak (or another modifier).
On the other hand, the forecast for weak global growth is perfectly acceptable too. It might depend on what follows or simply personal preference.
However, you cannot make fixed rules concerning the use of prepositions as the choice is governed largely by idiom.