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I remember my English professor saying that these two sentences are quite different in meaning, but after four months, I cannot recall the exact difference. Can somebody explain to me what's the difference?

Aman Kumar
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    When you say the second one you keep your pinky finger elevated. – Hot Licks Jul 10 '20 at 13:12
  • Perhaps 'an interview of ten minutes' shades more towards 'an interview that lasted almost exactly ten minutes' whereas 'a ten minute interview' shades towards 'an interview intended to last ten minutes', but I'd say this is highly opinionative. As the differences between the attributive usage and the Norman (of-) genitive have been covered in depth, I'll CV on this. – Edwin Ashworth Jul 10 '20 at 13:37

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Your professor may have been cheeky. "A ten-minute interview" is an interview that lasts (or is supposed to last) ten minutes, although it may go longer. "An interview of ten minutes" could be interpreted to mean that someone is going to interview a collection of ten minutes, which is nonsensical to anyone but Lewis Carroll. (In the UK, however, this meaning may not even cross someone's mind. Maybe I'm being cheeky.)

RobJarvis
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