Of course

We useof courseto refer to things that are obvious or already known to the speaker and listener, or to everybody:

A tropical climate is,of course, very humid, so we sweated all the time.(We use commas here, before and afterof course, to show that it refers to the whole of the first clause.)

A:

It’s a public holiday – that’s why the shops are closed.

B:

Oh,of course,yes! I’d completely forgotten.

We useof coursewhen a situation or piece of information is not surprising:

Our car broke down on the way to the station so,of course, we missed the train and had to buy new tickets. It cost us £80!

He’s mega-rich and,of course, he can afford to fly first class all the time.

We useof courseto mean ‘yes’ when we are giving permission to someone to do something:

A:

Can I borrow your newspaper for a minute?

B:

Of course.Go ahead.