| A |
A friend of mine / a friend of yours etc.
We say '(a friend) of mine/yours/his/hers/ours/theirs'.
A friend of mine = one of my friends:
- I'm going to a wedding on Saturday. A friend of mine is getting married. (not a friend of me)
- We went on holiday with some friends of ours. (not some friends of us)
- Mike had an argument with a neighbour of his.
- It was a good idea of yours to go to the cinema.
In the same way we say '(a friend) of my sister's / (a friend) of Tom's' etc.:
- That woman over there is a friend of my sister's. (= one of my sister's friends)
- It was a good idea of Tom's to go to the cinema.
|
| B |
My own ... / your own ... etc.
We use my/your/his/her/its/our/their before own:
- my own house
- your own car
- her own room
(not an own house, an own car etc.)
My own ... / your own .. . etc. = something that is only mine/yours, not shared or borrowed:
- I don't want to share a room with anybody. I want my own room.
- Vicky and Gary would like to have their own house.
- It's a shame that the apartment hasn't got its own parking space.
- It's my own fault that I've got no money. I buy too many things I don't need.
- Why do you want to borrow my car? Why don't you use your own? (= your own car)
You can also say 'a room of my own', 'a house of your own', 'problems of his own' etc. :
- I'd like to have a room of my own.
- He won't be able to help you with your problems. He has too many problems of his own.
|
| C |
We also use own to say that we do something ourselves instead of somebody else doing it for us.
For example:
- Brian usually cuts his own hair. (= he cuts it himself; he doesn't go to a barber)
- I'd like to have a garden so that I could grow my own vegetables. (= grow them myself instead of buying them from shops)
|
| D |
On my own / by myself
On my own and by myself both mean 'alone'. We say:
- on {my / your} own = by {myself / yourself (singular)}
- on {his / her / it} own = by {himself / herself / itself}
- on {our / their} own = by {ourselves / yourselves (plural) / themselves}
- I like living on my own / by myself.
- 'Did you go on holiday on your own / by yourself?' 'No, with a friend.'
- Jack was sitting on his own / by himself in a corner of the cafe.
- Learner drivers are not allowed to drive on their own / by themselves.
|
