UNIT 81. A friend of mine My own house On my own/by myself

A. 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.

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

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)

C. 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 ---.

Date: 2015-02-03; view: 2041