Is there any difference between ”control of/over“ and ”power over"
For example, what to choose here? "To compete for the control of/over a corporation" or "To compete for the power over a corporation"
UPDATE If two workers compete for absolute control/power, what idiom should I use?
"To compete for the control of a corporation"
This reads well when it's a person within the company competing in a legal context. Where the competition is about having legal standing to lead the company.
"To compete for the control over a corporation"
This reads well when it's corporations competing to control another corporation. This would put one corporation over another.
"To compete for power over a corporation"
This reads well when it's political. The power may not be in a legally recognized form. It may be blackmail. It may just be popularity and office politics.
The differences here are very slight. You could swap these around and many wouldn't care. These are simply the impressions they give.
Between "over" and "of" the literal meanings are identical. Over tends to be used more for people rather than things. When someone controls us we think of them as over us. This line is blurred when we anthropomorphize.
Over can have a slightly more pejorative implication than of. Over tends to be used when the control is sinister in some way. Although over doesn't have to be pejorative.
Leadership Lessons: 5 Tips to Develop Better Control Over Your Emotions
in control of
in control of someone or something
in charge of someone or something. Who is in control of this place? I am not in control of her. She works for another department.
to have someone or something mastered or subdued; to have achieved management of someone or something. You should be in control of your dog at all times. The attendant was instructed to be in control of his patient at all times.
See also: control, of
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
thefreedictionary.com:in control of
control over
*control over someone or something
the power to direct or manage someone or something. (*Typically: get ~; have ~; give someone ~.) I have no control over Mary. I can't stop her from running away. Who gave you control over what goes on in this house?
See also: control
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
thefreedictionary.com: control over