Difference between telling someone "of" and "about" somthing

[Jimmy_Uses Ean32]

I have a question:

I recently wrote a paper containing the sentence, "Who hasn't had a friend tell them of a dream they had where they could not move?"

I realize that this sentence is incorrect because it lacks an antecedent to specify who had the dream, but my English professor marked the sentence wrong because I used "of" instead of "about." Both "of" and "about" are prepositions modifying "tell" so I don't understand my error. Any help would be most appreciated.

Jimmy

[Mister Micawber]

I don't see any error in that either. You should realize, however, that they carry different intents: tell of = tell briefly and generally; tell about = tell in detail.
_________________
Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[Jimmy_Uses Ean32]

Thanks for the clarification. I couldn't find a difference between the two in anyof my handbooks.