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Snappy Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
My friend/A friend of mine
Some English grammar books published in Japan state that:
He is my friend.
This sentence implies that I have only one friend, and the following sentence should be used because a person usually has more than one friend.
He is a friend of mine.
Do native speakers of English think that I have only one friend if I say, "He is my friend."?
He is my friend.
This sentence implies that I have only one friend, and the following sentence should be used because a person usually has more than one friend.
He is a friend of mine.
Do native speakers of English think that I have only one friend if I say, "He is my friend."?
Top answer
No, not really. " or "Of course I invited him along; he's my friend," it doesn't mean you have only one friend. Of course, if you say, "He's my one and only friend," that's another story.
- No, not really.
- " or "Of course I invited him along; he's my friend," it doesn't mean you have only one friend.
- Of course, if you say, "He's my one and only friend," that's another story.
- That said, you'd probably hear this: A: So I was there, and so was Peter and Marcia, and ...
- B: Wait.
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4 Answers
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No, not really.
If you say something like,"You can trust him; he's my friend." or "Of course I invited him along; he's my friend," it doesn't mean you have only one friend.
Of course, if you say, "He's my one and only friend," that's another story.
That said, you'd probably hear this:
A: So I was there, and so was Peter and Marcia, and ...
B: Wait. I know your
If you say something like,"You can trust him; he's my friend." or "Of course I invited him along; he's my friend," it doesn't mean you have only one friend.
Of course, if you say, "He's my one and only friend," that's another story.
That said, you'd probably hear this:
A: So I was there, and so was Peter and Marcia, and ...
B: Wait. I know your
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I'm not fond of the double genitive, so in writing I usually avoid it by saying, "he's one of my friends".
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