Opinion of vs. Opinion About and Opinion on
How to use "opinion" correctly with different prepositionsThis is an entry on my list of Common Errors in English Usage. Visit the main page for direct links to additional entries.
The noun opinion can take different prepositions depending on its contextual meaning. However, it should not be used with the preposition toward:
negative opinion toward him
strong opinion toward that issue
To refer to one’s attitude toward people or their behavior, the preferred idiom in standard English is opinion of:
very low opinion of that sort of behavior
hopelessly biased opinion of him
To refer to one’s views about an issue, use opinion about (or with key words like issue or question, opinion on is also acceptable):
opinion about the judge’s decision
opinion about immigration
strong opinions on that issue
Related Resources
Common Errors in English Usage: Errors in diction and idiom commonly made by native speakers of English
List of Common Errors in English Usage (PDF): Printable version of the complete list
Common Grammar Errors: A list of common errors in grammar (topics like subject-verb agreement and parallelism) as distinct from usage
List of Common Errors in English Usage: PDF version
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