English 24
7th December 2002
A little bit of GRAMMAR

Subject: A friend of mine; my own house; on my own /by myself

A. A friend of mine / a friend of Sarah's
We say: a friend of mine; a friend of yours; a friend of his; a friend of hers; a friend of ours; a friend of theirs. (NOT: a friend of me; a friend of you; a friend of him. etc.)

Examples:
§ A friend of mine is coming to stay with me next month (not a friend of me)
§ We went to Rome with some friends of ours (not some friends of us)
§ Stephen had an argument with a neighbour of his (not a neighbour of he)
§ It was a good suggestion of yours (not a good suggestion of you) to go to the cinema this afternoon

We also say "a friend of Paul's", a friend of my father's etc.
That woman over there is a friend of my mother's etc.

B. my own; your own etc
My own = something that is only mine, not shared or borrowed:
You cannot say "an own ….." ( "an own house", "an own car")
You must use: my; your; his; her; its; our; their; before own:
e.g.my own house; my own room; your own car; her own shop;

Examples:
§ Do many people in Italy have their own house? (not an own house)
§ I don't want to share with anyone. I want my own room.
§ Unfortunately the flat hasn't got it's own entrance.
§ It's her own fault that she's got no money. She spends it too quickly.
§ Why do you want to borrow my car? Why can't you use your own (car)?

*You can also use own .. to say that you do something yourself instead of somebody else doing it for you.
Ann always cuts her own hair (=she cuts it herself; she doesn't go to the hairdresser )
Do you grow your own vegetables ? (=do you grow them yourself in your garden instead of buying them from the shops?)

C. On my own/by myself
On my own and by myself both mean alone.
We say:
§ On my /your/his/her/its/our/their own
§ By myself/yourself/himself/herself/itself (singular)
By ourselves/yourselves/ themselves (plural)

§ I like living on my own/by myself
§ Did you go on holiday on your own/ by yourself?
§ Jason was sitting on his own/by himself in a corner of the pub
§ Learner drivers are not allowed to drive on their own/by themselves

Practice exercises

1. Write new sentences using the structure: a friend of mine etc.
eg. I am writing to one of my friends. I'm writing to a friend of mine.

1. We met one of your relations. We met ………………………………………….
2. Clare borrowed one of my videos . Henry borrowed ………………………
3. Tom invited one of his friends to his flat. Tom invited some ………………to his flat.
4. Ann is in love with one of her colleagues. Ann is in love with ………………..
5. They went on holiday with two of their friends. They went on holiday with.

2. Now make sentences from the words in brackets; each time use: my own /your own etc.
e.g. I don't want to share a room (want/have/room) I want to have my own room
1. I don't watch television with the rest of the family. (have/television/in my bedroom) I have ………………………… in my bedroom.
2. Jennifer and Heddy are fed up with working for other people. (want/start/business). They ……………………………………
3. Isabella is extremely rich. (have/private jet). She………………………
4. Charlie lives in a horrible rundown bedsit. (no /bathroom)He doesn't even have …………………………

3. Now you have to complete these sentences using my own/your own etc.
e.g. Why do you want to borrow my car ? Why can't you use your own car?
Ann never goes to the hairdresser. She cuts her own hair.

1. Don't blame me. If you've lost your keys, it's …………… fault. You should be more careful.
2. She's always smoking my cigarettes. Why doesn't she buy….?
3. Why do you always want to borrow my clothes on Friday nights? Can't you wear ……..?
4. I don't often buy cakes and biscuits. I usually make…..
5. My brother's wife won't cook his meals for him. He has to cook …
6. My brother doesn't buy readymade cigarettes. He rolls ……….

4.Complete these sentences using on my own /by myself
e.g. Learner drivers are not allowed to drive on their own.
1. I'm glad I live with other people I wouldn't like to live on ……………….
2. The box was too heavy for me to lift by …………..
3. I went over to talk to Tom at the party because he was by ….
4. Very young children should not be allowed to go swimming by ……
5. Hasn't she got any friends? When I see her she is always on…..
6. I don't like strawberries with cream. I like them on ……….
7. Do you like working with people or do you prefer working by …
8. We had no help decorating the flat. We did it completely on ……

Answers

Exercise 1
1.a relation of yours; 2. a video of mine; 3. friends of his 4. a colleague of hers; 5. two friends of theirs

Exercise 2
1. my own television; 2. want to start their own business; 3 has her own private jet; 4. his own bathroom

Exercise 3
1. it's your own fault; 2. her own? 3.your own? 4. my own; 5. his own; 6. his own.

Exercise 4.
1.my own; 2. myself; 3. himself; 4. themselves; 5. her own; 6. their own; 7. yourself; 8. our own