A friend of mine/a friend of Tom's etc.
We say 'a friend of mine/yours/his/hers/ours/theirs' (not 'a friend of me/you/him' etc.)
* I'm going to a wedding on Saturday. A friend of mine is getting married. (not 'a friends of me')
* We went on holiday with some friends of ours. (not 'some friends of us')
* Michael had an argument with a neighbour of his.
* It was a good idea of yours to go swimming this afternoon.
In the same way we say 'a friend of Tom's', 'a friend of my sister's' etc.:
* It was a good idea of Tom's to go swimming.
* That woman over there is a friend of my sister's.
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
You cannot say 'an own...' ('an own house', 'an own car' etc.)
My own.../your own... (etc.) = something that is only mine/yours (etc.), not shared or borrowed:
* I don't want to share a room with anybody. I want my own room.
* Vera and George would like to have their own house. (not 'an own house')
* It's a pity that the flat hasn't got its own entrance.
* 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 can't you use your own?(= your own car)
You can also use ... own... to say that you do something yourself instead of somebody else doing it for you. For example:
* Brian usually cuts his own hair. (= he cuts it himself; he doesn't go to the hairdresser)
* I'd like to have a garden so that I could grow my own vegetables. (= grow them myself instead of buying them from shops)
On my own by myself
On my own and by myself both mean 'alone'. We say:
on my/your own
on his her/own
on its our/their own
by myself/yourself (singular)
by himself/herself/itself
by ourselves/yourselves (plural)/themselves
* I like living on my own/by myself.
* Did you go on holiday on your own/by yourself?
* 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.
EXERCISES
81.1 Write new sentences using the structure in Section A (a friend of mine etc.).
1. I am writing to _one of my friends._ _I'm writing to a friend of mine._
2. We met _one of your relations._ We met a ---
3. Henry borrowed _one of my books._ Henry ---
4. Ann invited _some of her friends_ to her flat. Ann ---
5. We had dinner with _one of our neighbours._
6. I went on holiday with _two of my friends._
7. Is that man _one of your friends?_
8. I met _one of lane's friends_ at the party.
81.2 Complete the sentences using my own/your own etc. + one of the following:
business ideas money private jet parliament room television
1. I don't want to share a room. I want _my own room._
2. I don't watch television with the rest of the family. I've got --- in my room.
3. Sue doesn't need to borrow from me. She's got ---.
4. Julia is fed up with working for other people. She wants to start ---.
5. Henry is extremely rich. He's got ---.
6. You can give him advice but he won't listen. He's got ---.
7. The Isle of Man is an island off the coast of Britain. It is not completely independent but it has ---.
81.3 Complete the sentences using my own/your own etc.
1. Why do you want to borrow my car? Why can't you use your own car?
2. How can you blame me? It's not my fault. It's ---.
3. He's always using my ideas. Why can't he use ---?
4. Please don't worry about my problems. You've got ---.
5. I can't make her decisions for her. She must make ---.
81.4 Complete the sentences using my own/your own etc. Choose one of these verbs:
bake cut make write
1. Brian never goes to the hairdresser. He usually _cuts his own car?_
2. Mary doesn't often buy clothes. She usually ---.
3. Paul is a singer. He sings songs written by other people but he also ---.
4. We don't often buy bread from a bakery. We ---.
81.5 Complete the sentences using on my own/by myself etc.
1. Did you go on holiday on _your own?_
2. I'm glad I live with other people. I wouldn't like to live on ---.
3. The box was too heavy for me to lift by ---.
4. 'Who was Tom with when you saw him?' 'Nobody. He was by ---.'
5. Very young children should not go swimming by ---.
6. I don't think she knows many people. When I see her, she is always by ---.
7. I don't like strawberries with cream. I like them on ---.
8. Do you like working with other people or do you prefer working by ---.
9. We had no help decorating the flat. We did it completely on ---.
10. I went out with Sally because she didn't want to go out on ---.
81.1
2 We must a relation of yours.
3 Henry borrowed a book of mine.
4 Anne invited some friends of hers to her flat.
5 We had dinner with a neighbour of ours.
6 I went on holiday with two friends of mine.
7 Is that man a friend of yours?
8 I met a friend of Jane's at the party.
81.2
2 my own television
3 her own money
4 her own business
5 his own private jet
6 his own ideas
7 its own parliament
81.3
2 your own fault
3 his own ideas
4 your own problems
5 her own decisions
81.4
2 makes her own clothes
3 writes his own songs
4 bake our own bread
81.5
2 my own 2 myself
4 himself 5 themselves
6 herself 7 their own
8 yourself 9 our own
10 her own
