Representative Of: Standard Pattern
Representative Of: Standard Pattern records the directly documented construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced complement pattern rather than inventing a broader prohibition.
Use “representative of” when the complement names the group, views, work, or class that something typifies.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| typify a group, class, period, or body of work | representative of + noun | Use “of” to introduce what is typified. |
| speak or act on behalf of someone/group | representative of + organization/group may describe affiliation | Distinguish typifying from institutional representation by context. |
| claim statistical representativeness | require evidence beyond the grammar pattern | Do not turn the construction itself into an unsupported sampling claim. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Are you saying the subject is typical or characteristic of a larger group, class, or body of work?
If yes: Use “representative of.”
If no: If you mean formal representation or statistical representativeness, make that relationship explicit and support any factual claim separately.
Examples
This example is representative of the broader pattern.
“Of” introduces the class that the example typifies.
The painting is representative of her early work.
The construction links the item to the body of work it typifies.
One unusual case may not be representative of the whole group.
The sentence uses the standard construction without claiming that representativeness has already been proved.
Further guidance
Construction
Cambridge documents adjective “representative of” when something is typical of or reflects a larger group or body.
Style Boundary
This page covers the adjective typical-of construction; the noun representative meaning an agent or delegate is a separate use.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Representative — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Direct dictionary evidence for adjective “representative of” when something is typical of or represents a larger group.