Personal pronouns correspond to possessive pronouns that express belonging and answer the question whose? whose? Possessive pronouns have two forms: one serving pronoun-adjective, and another serving pronoun-noun.
Possessive pronouns-adjectives
The possessive pronoun in this form is always before a noun to which it refers. Being a determiner of a noun, it excludes the use of the article before this noun:
My pencil is on the table. My pencil is on the table.
Didn't give me his address. He gave me his address.
If the noun is preceded by other attributes, then the possessive pronoun, like any determiner, is placed before them:
Where is my red pencil? Where is my red pencil?
His elder brother lives in Moscow. His older brother lives in Moscow.
The possessive pronoun, like the article, is placed after all And both:
All my pencils are in that box. All my pencils are in this box.
Both his brothers live there. Both of his brothers live there.
Note. In Russian, pronouns his And them are used both as personal and possessive pronouns. Pronouns his And them in the meaning of personal pronouns (to the question whom? what?) correspond to personal pronouns him And them, and pronouns his And them in the meaning of possessive pronouns (to the question whose?) correspond to possessive pronouns his And their:
I saw him. I saw him (personal pronoun).
This is his watch. This is his watch (possessive pronoun).
I saw them. I saw them (personal pronoun).
This is their house. This is their home (possessive pronoun).
Possessive pronouns-nouns
After possessive pronouns in this form nouns are never put, since the possessive pronouns themselves are used instead of nouns. These pronouns perform the function of the subject, object or nominal part of the predicate in the sentence:
This is not my pencil mine is blue. This is not my pencil my- blue. (subject).
I have broken my pencil. Please give me yours. I broke my pencil. please, give me your. (direct object).
This book is mine. This book my. (nominal part of the predicate)
The Russian possessive pronoun svoi can refer to all three persons, singular and plural: I gave him my book, he (she) gave me his book, we gave them our books and etc.
In English there is no special form of the possessive pronoun corresponding to the Russian pronoun mine, and it is translated by one of the possessive pronouns my, mine, his, her, hers, your, yours etc. depending on the person of the subject:
I broke my pen. I have broken my pen.
She lost her pencil. She has lost her pencil.
They gave us their books. They gave us their books.
I don't have a dictionary. Can you give me yours? I haven't got a dictionary. Can you give me yours?
Note. It should be borne in mind that in English, possessive pronouns-adjectives my, his, her etc. are also used in those cases when there is no pronoun in front of the corresponding nouns in Russian, but it is implied (the article the is less preferable in this case):
He spent his vacation in the Crimea. Not spent his leave in the Crimea.
I told my wife about it. I told my wife about it.
Take off your coat! take off your coat.
He put the letter in his pocket. Don't put the letter into his pocket.
Brief information about personal (Personal), possessive (Possessive), demonstrative (Demonstrative) and indefinite (Indefinite) pronouns in English.
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns denote a person or thing and are used instead of a noun. They have nominative and object forms. (table 1.1)
Personal pronouns in the nominative case are used in the function of the subject.
I like ice cream. I love ice cream.
We like football. We we love football.
Personal pronouns in the objective case are used in the object function.
Give me a book. Give) to me book.
I see Ann, I see her in the garden. I see Anna, I see her in the garden.
Please note that the personal pronoun I (I) in English always used with a capital letter.
| Number | Face | Nominative | Objective case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit | 1 | I - I | me - me, me |
| 2 | you - you, you | you - you, you, you, you | |
| 3 |
it - he, she, it | him - to him, him her - her, her it - to him, her, him, her |
|
| Mn. | 1 | we - we | us - us, us |
| 2 | you - you | you - you, you | |
| 3 | they - they | them - them, them |
Pronouns he and she are used instead of animate nouns. Instead of inanimate nouns in the singular, the pronoun is used it, which corresponds to Russian pronouns he she it depending on the gender of the noun in Russian.
The table is he (it), the window is it (it), the pen is she (it).
The pronoun they (they) replaces both animate and inanimate plural nouns.
The pronoun you can denote one person and many people, i.e. it refers to the second person singular (you, you is a polite form of address) and to the second person plural (you).
You are a doctor. You are a doctor.
You are a school boy. You are a student.
You are doctors. You are doctors.
You are schoolboys. You are schoolchildren.
Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns express possession. They answer the question whose?(whose, whose, whose, whose?). Possessive pronouns have two forms. (table 1.2).
The possessive pronoun in the 1st form (attributive form) is followed by nouns.
This is my book. This my book.
The possessive pronoun in the 2nd form (absolute form) is not followed by nouns.
This book is mine. This book - my.
| 1st form of possessive pronouns | 2nd form of possessive pronouns |
|---|---|
| my- my, my, my, my | mine- my, my, my, my |
| his- his | his- his |
| her- her | hers- her |
| its- her his | – |
| our- ours, ours, ours, ours | ours- ours, ours, ours, ours |
| your- yours, yours, yours, yours; | yours- yours, yours, yours, yours; |
| yours, yours, yours, yours | yours, yours, yours, yours |
| their- them | theirs- them |
Demonstrative Pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns have singular and plural forms. (table 1.3)
this tree- this wood
that tree- then wood
these trees- these trees
those trees- those trees
The pronouns this and these indicate objects that are near the speaker. The pronouns that and those indicate objects that are far away from the speaker.
Indefinite Pronouns
The most common indefinite pronouns are some, any, no. We will cover them in this lecture.
Pronoun some has the meaning some, a certain amount, a little, some. Pronoun some usually used in affirmative sentences. It is not always translated into Russian. Compare the following examples:
I have got some money. I have some money.
Give some milk to the child. Give the baby milk.
In interrogative and negative sentences, the word some usually replaced by the word any.
Has he got any money? Does he have money?
There is n "t any milk in the fridge. There is no milk in the refrigerator. (About the construction there +to be "The turnover there + the verb to be. The turnovers with the impersonal it")
But if you want to ask a question by offering something or making a request for something, you should use the word some, but not any, for example:
Would you like some milk? Do you want milk?
Can I have some mineral water, please? May I have some mineral water?
Pronoun any can be used in affirmative sentences with the meaning any.
You can take any book. You can take any book.
Note that the pronouns some And any can be used independently, that is, without the nouns following them. Example:
Are there any apples? Are there apples?
Yes, there are some on the = Yes, there are some apples on the Yes, there are some (apples) on the table.
You can have some ice cream but I don't want any. = You can have some ice cream but I don't want any ice-cream. You can eat ice cream and I don't want any (ice cream).
Pronoun no has a negative value none, none, none, none.
He has no friends. He has (no) friends.
He has no mistakes in his test. He does not have (any) errors in the control work.
He has no free time. He has no free time.
In English negative sentences, either the indefinite pronoun any with the negation not ( not any), or a negative pronoun no. You can say:
There are not any flowers in the vase. = There are no flowers in the vase. There are no flowers in the vase.
He has not any free time. = He has no free time. He has no free time.
Questions for self-control
- What personal pronouns do you know in English?
- What are the case forms of personal pronouns in English?
- What is the difference between the nominative case and the object case of personal pronouns?
- Which personal pronoun is always capitalized in English?
- What forms of possessive pronouns do you know? How do they differ?
- What demonstrative pronouns refer to an object or objects near the speaker?
- What demonstrative pronouns refer to an object or objects that are far away from the speaker?
- What indefinite pronouns are used in affirmative sentences?
- What indefinite pronouns are used in interrogative sentences?
- What indefinite pronoun can be used in a negative sentence instead of not any?
Exercises
Insert appropriate personal pronouns.
1. Ben is a little boy. … is six. 2. Jane is a house-wife (housewife). ... is lazy (lazy). 3. Max is a soldier. …is brave. 4. Lily is a young woman. … is very beautiful. 5. Alice is late. ... is in a traffic jam (in a traffic jam). 6. Nick and Ann are far from Moscow. …are on a farm. 7. This is Ben "s room. ... is nice. 8. These are new books. ... are interesting. 9. This is Elsa. ... is a student. 10. Nick and Max are students. ... are students of a Moscow university 11. The rooms are small but … are light and warm 12. The new flat is comfortable but … is far from the university 13. Jack has many French books … likes to read French very much 14. Hans is a 15. Alice and Jane are new secretaries... are not lazy.
Insert the appropriate personal pronouns in the suggested answers to the questions.
1. Is your house new? – Yes, … is. 2. Are the students at the English lesson now? - Yes, ... are. 3. Is your university in Green Street? – Yes, … is. 4. Are Helen and Bess your sisters? – Yes, … are. 5. Is Ben "s sister an engineer? - Yes, ... is. 6. Are the pencils red? - No, ... are not. 7. Is this room comfortable? - No, ... isn "t. 8. Are the textbooks on the shelf? - Yes, ... are. 9. Does the girl often visit the museum? - No, ... doesn't. 10. Does this pen write well? - Yes, ... does. 11. Is Ben on holiday now? - No, ... isn "t. 12. Is Helen nice? - Yes, … is. 13. Are you an engineer? - Yes, … am.
Replace the underlined words with personal pronouns in the objective case.
1. I like Nick. 2.We like Bess. 3. He likes ice-cream. 4. Can you show the pictures to Ben? 5. You can tell Helen my e-mail address. 6. Are you interested in football? 7. I want to buy two bottles of milk for Bess. 8. Do you want to play tennis with Ben? 9. We must speak to Nick. 10. You should invite Helen and Bess to your house for dinner. 11. Do you know Mary? 12. Tell Nick about your plan. 13. I see my friends every day.
Insert appropriate personal pronouns in the objective case.
1. Where is Nick? I want to play tennis with … . 2. Bess is here. Do you want to speak to …? 3. My sister speaks French. She learns … at school. 4. Look at that man. Do you know…? 5. Do you want to read this newspaper? I can give … to …. 6. If you see Ben and Bess, please, don "t tell ... anything. 7. We want to phone Helen and invite ... to the party.
Replace the underlined words with personal pronouns in the nominative or object case.
1. The vase is on the 2. Mother often sends Ben to buy milk. 3. Are Bess and Helen ready to do the work? 4. Nick and Ben spend their holidays at the seaside. five. The man is in the park. 6. The managers are not at work now. 7. Helen and I are good friends. 8.Is Ben at the lesson now? 9. Where is the calculator? 10. The newspapers are on the 11. The child is in the garden with his mother. 12. Our parents are always glad to see us. 13. My brother and I are good football players. fourteen. Bess knows Ben. 15. I see the picture very well. 16. The students have lectures every day. 17. The boy plays football every Sunday. eighteen. The teacher asks the students. 19. The students write tests every week. 20. Look at the picture! 21. I have the book at home. 22. Max want to speak to Helen.
Replace the underlined words with possessive pronouns.
1. This is Ben's room. 2. This is Helen's hat. 3.Here is my parents" house. 4. Nick's mother is an economist. 5. Where is my brother's bag? 6. I like Helen's car. 7. Ann's books are on the 8 This student's sister is my friend. nine. My sister's house is not far from Ben's house. 10. Where is the children's room? eleven. Ann's brothers study at the university. 12. These boys fathers don't work at the factory. 13. Here is my sisters flat.
Exercise 1 Insert possessive pronouns.
1. Is your bag new? - Yes, … bag is new . 2. I like …hat, Ann. 3. Don "t plant this tree! ... branch is broken. 4. Max, you have a new job. Do you like ... new job? 5. ... friends always tell me everything. 6. Our dog likes to run after .. .tail.
Change the following sentences according to the model, using the absolute form of the possessive pronouns.
Sample:
This car is my car.
This car is mine.
1. This calculator is my calculator. 2. Is this bicycle your bicycle? 3. These hats are her hats. 4. This room is their room. 5. This dog is our dog. 6. My flat is more comfortable than your flat. 7. Our house is near their house. 8. Which of the dictionaries is your dictionary? 9. Is this book his book? 10. Whose cat is this? Is it her cat or his cat?
Choose the appropriate possessive pronoun.
1. Mark is (their, theirs) cousin. 2. This is our car. It is (our, ours). 3. These are Mary's books. They are (her, hers). 4. White is (my, mine) favorite colour. 5. You can't have this book. It is not (your, yours). 6. (Her, Hers) house is big. 7. Is this (your, yours) coat? - No, it is not (my, mine). 8. Are these your friends" books? - Yes, they are (their, theirs). 9. That is (our, ours) house. It is (our, ours).
1. I have his phone number and his address. 2. Nick often takes my pen because he often leaves his pen at home. 3. Her son only has good grades in his favorite subjects. 4. Anna loves her cat and Max loves his dog. 5. Put your notebooks in my bag. 6. Is this book yours or mine? 7. Whose dictionary is this? Is he hers or his?
Change the sentences according to the model, using demonstrative pronouns in the plural. Make other necessary changes.
Sample:
This girl is a student.
These girls are students.
That boy is brave.
Those boys are brave.
1. This book is French. 2. This girl is in the garden. 3. That map is old. 4. This student is from Great Britain. 5. That flower is beautiful. 6. This is my bag. 7. This is a French text. 8. That room is nice. 9. This film is interesting.
Write the sentences by changing the number of words. Make other necessary changes.
Whose pencil is this?
Whose pencils are these?
1. Pass me those apples. 2. I don't like this hat. 3. This is your copy-book. 4. Whose car is this? 5. Those pens are better than these. 6. Where is that nice girl now? 7. These books are not interesting. 8. Those newspapers are for you. 9. Is that boy your brother? 10. These rooms are very nice. 11. Whose bags are these? 12. Give me that cap, please. 13. This table is little. 14 15. This flat is clean.
Translate into English.
- This is a cat, and that is a kitten.
- This cat is white. That kitten is also white.
- This white cat is on the table. That white kitten under the bed.
- These are roses. Those are also roses.
- These roses are red. Those roses are white.
- These red roses are in a vase. Those white roses are also in a vase.
- This is my dog. This dog is mine.
- These are his books. These books are on the shelf.
- These are baskets. Those baskets are full of flowers.
Ask general questions according to the model.
Sample:
There are some roses in the vase.
Are there any roses in the vase?
There is some wine in the glass.
Is there any wine in the glass?
1. There are some letters for Ann. 2. There is some noise in the corridor. 3. There are some children in the garden. 4. There are some cars in the street. 5. There is some fish in the fridge. 6. There is some ice-cream on the 7. There are some books on the shelf. 8. There are some old shoes under the bed.
Change the sentences according to the model, using the negative pronoun no.
Sample:
There aren't any boys there.
There are no boys there.
1. There isn't any coffee in the cup. 2. There aren't any students in the class-room. 3. There aren't any cars in the street. 4. He hasn't any friends. 5. They haven't any money. 6. We haven't any meat for supper. 7. That country hasn "t any coffee to export.
Insert some or any.
1. There are … students in the library. 2. There isn't ... light in the room. 3. Mary has got two sisters but she hasn "t got ... brothers. 4. I don "t like popular music but ... people like it. 5. Has Mother ... meat for dinner? - Yes, she has .... 6. Are there ... mistakes in Nick" s dictation? - No, there are not .... 7. Has Max … friends here? - Yes, he has ... . 8. Has Bess … interesting books to read? - No, she hasn "t ... . 9. Would you like ... coffee? 10. Can I have ... tea, please?
We use pronouns to replace nouns in a sentence. Look at the word “pronoun” itself, it contains the main function of this part of speech: “ instead of having", i.e " instead of a noun". Pronouns are used to diversify speech and not repeat the same word from sentence to sentence.
There are several types of pronouns in English: , and possessive. We paid special attention to each type of pronouns in a separate article.
Let's see how a native speaker teacher Alex talks about words that show that someone owns something.
When we want to say that someone owns something, we use possessive forms. As you can see Alex identified two forms: Possessive adjectives And Possessive Pronouns.
Possessive adjectives
Let's start considering possessive forms with possessive adjectives. Abroad these words are called Possessive adjectives. Such words show a sign of an object, phenomenon or person, therefore they are classified as adjectives, not pronouns:
- my book. - My book. (what book? - mine)
- His friend. - His friend. (what friend? - his)
In Russian textbooks on English grammar it is written that my (your, his etc.) is a pronoun, but native English teachers insist that it is still an adjective, because it comes before a noun and defines it. Let's take a look at the table:
| Personal pronoun | Possessive adjective | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| I | My | My |
| You | Your | Is yours |
| He | His | His |
| She | Her | Her |
| It | Its | His her |
| We | Our | Our |
| You | Your | Your |
| They | Their | Them |
My cat likes to play with a ball. - My the cat loves to play with the ball.
She wants to talk to your manager. - She wants to talk to yours manager.
The teacher found his mistakes. The teacher found his errors.
I like her dress. - I like her the dress.
Our family likes to rest in Crimea, we adore its nature. – Our family loves to relax in the Crimea, we adore his nature.
They look after our children. - They look after our children.
He is speaking with their mother. - He talks to them mom.
Please note that in all examples after my (his, their) is a noun.
In Russian there is a universal word "our", which we simply change by numbers and persons. In English, the words “one’s own”, “one’s own”, “one’s own” should be translated as “mine”, “ours”, “his” / “hers”, respectively.
She cut mine finger. – She cut her finger.
I love my mom. – I love my mother.
Do my work. – Do your work.
Possessive pronouns
If you need to replace a noun in a sentence, you must use one of the possessive pronouns. Usually the noun is replaced so that there are no repetitions in the sentence.
- This is not my pen, mine is purple. - This is not my pen, my purple (replaced my pen on the mine).
| Personal pronoun | Possessive pronoun | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| I | Mine | My |
| You | Yours | Is yours |
| He | His | His |
| She | Hers | Her |
| It | Its | His her |
| We | Ours | Our |
| You | Yours | Your |
| They | Theirs | Them |
Becky! That is mine! - This my, Becky!
My task is easier than yours. - My task is easier than your.
This is not his car, his is blue. - It's not his car. his- blue.
This is a friend of hers. - This her friend.
It is not their house theirs is bigger. - This is not their house. them more.
The general pattern for all possessive pronouns is that you do not need to use a noun after them, and, as a rule, it is at the end of the sentence. Also, take a look at this couple: a friend of mine And my friend. Both phrases mean the same thing - my friend, only after the preposition of use possessive pronouns rather than adjectives ( a friend of my).
Any student who starts learning English from scratch on his own or with a teacher will learn how to answer the question “ What's your name?”(Russian. What is your name?).
Answering " My name is…“(Rus. My name is ...), he doesn’t even think that he already knows two possessive pronouns: my(mine, mine, mine. mine) and your(Russian yours, yours, yours, yours), without which it is impossible to build communication in English.
We use the same possessive pronouns for everything, but do we own our lives or sisters or husbands in the same way we own our shoes? Do we own any of them at all?
We use possessive pronouns for everything, but do we really own our lives, sisters or husbands as much as we own our shoes? Do we own all this?
~ Samantha Harvey
They can cause some misunderstanding on the part of those who are just starting to learn English and have encountered Possessive pronouns for the first time.
In English grammar, two varieties of possessive pronouns peacefully coexist: Possessive adjectives(possessive adjectives) and Possessive Pronouns(possessive pronouns). Today we will talk about them in this article.
Possessive pronouns in English
Possessive pronouns help us understand that someone or something owns something. Signature on key chains: I am yours (Russian I am yours), And you are mine (Russian And you are mine)
Let's first remember what a possessive pronoun is.
Possessive pronouns(mine, yours, ours, and others) indicate the sign of belonging to a certain person and answer the question whose? In Russian, they agree with the noun in number, gender, and case.
What about English possessive pronouns? There are two forms of possessive pronouns in English ( Possessive adjectives and Possessive pronouns), which differ in spelling and how they are used in a sentence.
Let us consider in more detail both forms of possessive pronouns in English.
Possessive Adjectives
Possessive pronouns in English, resembling an adjective in their role in a sentence, and which are always used with a noun, are called Possessive adjectives(Russian possessive adjective).
Below is a table of the formation of possessive pronouns in English and their comparison with personal pronouns.
Possessive pronouns dependent form (Table 1)
Possessive pronouns dependent form (Table 2)
When we want to indicate ownership, we cannot use !
Sentence He name was Carl(Russian. His name was Karl) sounds strange and wrong in both English and Russian. He is a personal pronoun. Replace it with a suitable possessive adjective his and get a grammatically and logically correct sentence: His name was Car l (Russian. His name was Karl)
Sometimes this form of possessive pronouns or Possessive adjectives called dependent, since it cannot be used on its own, without a noun.
Remember!
Possessive pronouns-adjectives (Possessive Adjectives) in English they are used only in conjunction with a noun and always come before it.
Since dependent possessive pronouns resemble adjectives in their functionality, they also play the role of a definition in a sentence.
Examples of sentences with possessive adjectives in English
English beginners often confuse possessive adjectives with contracted forms of the verb. to be:
your And you're (= you are)
its And it's (= it is)
Compare the use of possessive pronouns and the contracted form of the verb:
Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns in English that can be used in a sentence without a noun are called Possessive Pronouns(Russian possessive pronoun).
Possessive Pronouns also called absolute or independent form of possessive pronouns. In this form, nouns are never placed after possessive pronouns, since these pronouns are used instead of nouns.
Remember!
Absolute possessive pronouns ( Possessive Pronounss) in English are used without a noun and perform the function of a subject, object, or nominal part of a predicate in a sentence.
Below is a table of the formation of absolute possessive pronouns in English and their comparison with personal pronouns.
Possessive pronouns in English absolute form (Table 1)
Possessive pronouns in English absolute form (Table 2)
English possessive pronouns in absolute form replace the possessive adjective ( Possessive Adjective) with a noun to avoid repetition of information, since everything is clear without it. For example:
This book is my book, not your book(Russian This book is my book, not your book)
This book is mine, not yours(Russian This book is mine, not yours)
As you noticed in both Russian and English, the second sentence sounds more natural. Let's take a look at how possessive pronouns are used in a sentence.
Examples of sentences with possessive pronouns in English
| Sentence with a possessive pronoun | Translation into Russian |
|---|---|
| What's mine is yours, my friend. | What's mine is yours, my friend. |
| I have broken my pencil. Please give me yours. | I broke my pencil. Please give me yours. |
| Are those gloves hers? | Those gloves are hers? |
| All the essays were good but his was the best. | All the writings were good, but his was the best. |
| The world is mine. | The world is mine. |
| Your photos are good. Ours are terrible. | Your photos are great, ours are terrible. |
| These aren't John and Mary's children. Theirs have black hair. | These are not John and Mary's children. Theirs is black haired. |
| John found his passport but Mary couldn't find hers. | John found his passport, but Mary couldn't find hers. |
| Is that chair yours? | Is this chair yours? |
| I know this drink is yours but I need to drink something. | I know this drink is yours, but I need something to drink. |
Possessive pronoun its in absolute form is used extremely rarely, only in conjunction with the word own:
The cottage seems asleep yet, but it may have a life of its own(Russian. It seemed that the cottage was still sleeping, but perhaps it lived its own life).
My or Mine? Possessive pronoun or adjective?
On the poster is an inscription with a vivid example of the use of possessive pronouns in dependent and absolute form: “Because my body is mine (belongs to me!)”
As already mentioned, we use possessive adjectives and pronouns when we need to express ownership. Both forms are translated into Russian in the same way.
Possessive adjective ( Possessive Adjective) is always used with a following noun:
This is my pen(Russian This is my pen), where my is a possessive adjective, pen is a subsequent noun.
Possessive pronouns ( Possessive Pronouns) are always used on their own, without an accompanying word:
This pen is mine(Russian This pen is mine), where mine- a possessive pronoun, after which we DO NOT NEED a noun.
Comparative table of possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns.
The semantic load does not change in these two sentences. However, when we need to focus on someone or something, it is better to use the absolute form.
Translation of English possessive pronouns
There is no difference in the meaning of possessive adjectives and pronouns in English and in their translation into Russian.
English possessive pronouns in dependent and absolute form are translated into Russian in the same way, but there are a few things you need to know about.
Translation of the possessive pronoun your into English
There is no special possessive pronoun in English that corresponds to the Russian possessive pronoun ""own"".
Russian pronoun ""own" in English corresponding possessive pronouns.
Example sentences in English with the translation of the pronoun svoi
English possessive pronouns are usually not translated into Russian when they are combined with nouns denoting parts of the body or items of clothing, but are always present before the noun.
In Russian, with similar nouns, possessive pronouns are usually not used. Compare English sentences with possessive sentences with translation:
Special cases of using possessive pronouns
Using the Of yours structure
Very often (especially in American English) you can hear the following construction: a friend/some friends of + mine, yours, etc:
I saw a friend of yours last night(eng. I saw one of your friends last night) = I saw one of your friends last night.
Here are some friends of mine(Russian. And here are my friends) = Here are my friends.
Offers I saw one of your friends last night and I saw a friend of yours last night translated will be the same "Last night I saw one of your friends." However, there is a slight semantic difference.
Let's look at phrases "my friend" And “a friend of mine”.
“My friend” is about a close friend. If you call a person "my friend" It means that you have a warm and trusting relationship with him. But, each of us has people with whom we just have a good relationship. These are just our friends and acquaintances. This is exactly what we need here the expression “a friend of mine”.
The indefinite article itself tells us that "one of" friends, someone indefinite:
This is my friend Jessica.("my friend" - before the name)
This is Jessica, a friend of mine.("a friend of mine" - after the name)
With a phrase "a friend of mine" associated with one amusing fact. In English culture, there is a concept urban myth(BrE) or urban legend(Ame). This is a story, usually with an unexpected, humorous or instructive ending, which the narrator passes off as a real event.
We call these stories "tales" or "fictions". These incidents allegedly happen to a certain acquaintance of the narrator, and the name of the acquaintance is never specified.
Most of these stories (or "tales") begin with the words: This happened to a friend of mine... (This happened to one of my friends...).
When to use Yours faithfully and Yours sincerely
You have probably come across the phrase Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely at the end of a formal letter, for example:
Yours sincerely, Mary Wilkinson(Russian. Sincerely, Mary Wilkinson).
In business correspondence, these are irreplaceable phrases that need to be written at the end of the letter. Read more about the features of business English.
Examples of using the phrases “Yours faithfully” and “Yours sincerely”
Using an English noun in the genitive case
Possessive nouns can be used as possessive pronouns when referring to belonging to someone in particular.
As a rule, the use of nouns in the possessive case does not affect the form of possessive pronouns, for example:
Whose cell phone is that? - It's John's.(Russian Whose phone is this? - John.)
Who do these computers belong to? - They"re our parents".(Russian. Who owns these computers? - Our parents.)
The relation of belonging or involvement of one object to another can also be indicated using the possessive case ( The Possessive case). which we will talk about in our next article.
Possessive pronouns in English: video
To finally consolidate the knowledge gained, we recommend that you watch a video about possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns.
English Grammar Lessons - Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns
Finally:
In this article, we tried to explain the use of possessive pronouns in English as simply as possible and how to correctly answer the question “whose” in English.
We hope that after reading our article, you will no longer have questions about this topic and you will be able to use this grammar correctly in your speech and writing.
Stay on our site and you will discover a lot from the world of English grammar!
Exercises for possessive pronouns
And now we invite you to test your knowledge of possessive pronouns in English by completing the following test.
Choose the correct option (insert either a possessive adjective or a possessive pronoun according to the meaning):
Jane has already eaten her lunch, but I"m saving hers/her/my/mine until later.
She has broken hers/her/his leg.
My mobile needs to be fixed, but mine/his/our/their is working.
You/Yours/Mine/My computer is a Mac, but you/your/yours/my is a PC.
We gave them ours/mine/our/yours telephone number, and they gave us their/theirs/ours/mine.
Mine/My/Yours/Your pencil is broken. Can I borrow you/yours/him/its?
Ours/Our/Your/My car is cheap, but you/your/yours/my is expensive.
You can "t have any chocolate! It" s all mine / my / our / yours!
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