Learn English – What’s the difference between “aspects of” and “aspects to”

prepositionsusage

I just wrote

There are two strange aspects of this situation.

Then I decided that

There are two strange aspects to this situation.

sounded better, but I don't know why. There are certainly many situations where "aspects of" sounds more natural than "aspects to". For example, it sounds more natural to me to say

I haven't thought through all the subtle aspects of this question.

than

I haven't thought through all the subtle aspects to this question.

But I can't quite put my finger on a precise rule for when to use which one. Is there one?

Best Answer

When using aspect in a sentence, you can't use 'to' for showing possession, instead use 'of'.

However, you can place preposition to when there's no talk of any possession, as in:

  • Moreover, the time horizon is another important aspect to take into consideration. [it doesn't show any possession here].

Your first example where you used 'aspects of' is absolutely grammatical other than your second example:

  • There are two strange aspects of this situation. [correct]

And your second example might have been like this:

  • There are two strange aspects to consider. [hence, using 'to' for showing possession is entirely ungrammatical]

Note that your 3rd and 4th examples are vice versa here. Same rules can be applied as I told about your 1st and 2nd example.

Also note that we use to in using other words, like belong and junior, etc. to show possession, property or relationship:

  • ... belong to me.

  • He is junior to me.

  • What is he to you?

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