Ampersand Lab

Intermediate grammar · Lesson 83 · B1

a friend of mine my own house on my own / by myself

A friend of mine means one of my friends; my own means mine alone, never an own; he cuts his own hair means he does it himself; on my own and by myself both mean alone.

Start the lesson

15Steps · about 28 minutes

In this lesson

a friend of mine, a friend of yoursA2 screens of questions
my own, your ownB2 screens of questions
He cuts his own hairC1 screen of questions
on my own and by myselfD2 screens of questions
Put it together+2 screens of mixed questions

Point A of 4

a friend of mine, a friend of yours

The pattern is (a friend) of mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs. A friend of mine = one of my friends. a friend of me is always wrong.

Names and nouns work the same way: a friend of my sister's, an idea of Tom's.

  • I'm off to a christening on Sunday. A friend of mine has had a baby.
  • We went camping with some neighbours of ours. (not some neighbours of us)
  • Harry had a row with a neighbour of his.
  • Booking a table was a clever idea of yours.
  • That woman by the bar is a friend of my sister's.
  • Bringing a flask was a clever idea of Tom's.

Point A · Exercise 83.1 · part 1 of 2

Rewrite the part in bold with ... of mine, yours and so on.

  1. Example

    I'm having lunch with one of my friends today. I'm having lunch with a friend of mine today.

    AnswerI'm having lunch with a friend of mine today.

  2. We met one of your relatives. We met .

  3. Jason borrowed one of my books. Jason borrowed .

  4. I bumped into Lisa and some of her classmates. I bumped into Lisa and .

  5. We had tea with one of our neighbours. We had tea with .

Point A · Exercise 83.1 · part 2 of 2

Rewrite the part in bold with ... of mine, yours and so on.

  1. I went camping with two of my friends. I went camping with .

  2. One of Amy's cousins is coming to stay. is coming to stay.

  3. One of my dreams is to sail round the world. is to sail round the world.

Point B of 4

my own, your own

We say my own, your own, her own and so on. Never an own house.

My own means mine only: not shared, not borrowed. You can also say a room of my own, problems of his own.

  • I don't want to share. I want my own room.
  • Vicky and Gary would love their own house.
  • It's a pity the flat hasn't got its own parking space.
  • It's my own fault I'm skint. I buy too much rubbish.
  • Why do you keep using my charger? Haven't you got your own?
  • I'd like a room of my own.
  • He can't help you with your problems. He's got plenty of his own.

Point B · Exercise 83.2

Complete the sentences with my own, our own and so on, and one of these: bathroom, business, opinions, private beach, words.

Use these

bathroombusinessopinionsprivate beachwords

  1. Example

    We share a garden, but we each have our own front door.

    AnswerWe share a garden, but we each have our own front door.

  2. Gary never copies other people's ideas. He has .

  3. Julia doesn't want to work for anybody else. She wants to start .

  4. Don't copy the article. Explain it in .

  5. We stayed at a posh hotel on the coast. The hotel had .

Point B · Exercise 83.3

Complete the sentences with my own, your own and so on.

  1. Example

    Why do you keep borrowing my umbrella? Why don't you buy your own?

    AnswerWhy do you keep borrowing my umbrella? Why don't you buy your own?

  2. Don't blame the referee. You missed the penalty. It's .

  3. She's always pinching my ideas. Why can't she use ?

  4. Don't fret about my worries. I'm sure you've got .

  5. I can't choose her career for her. She has to make .

Point C of 4

He cuts his own hair

own can also mean that you do it yourself, without anyone doing it for you.

  • Paul cuts his own hair. (nobody else does it for him)
  • I'd love an allotment so I could grow my own vegetables.

Point C · Exercise 83.4

Complete the sentences with my own, your own and so on, using the verb in brackets.

  1. Example

    Paul never goes to the barber's. He cuts his own hair. (cut)

    AnswerPaul never goes to the barber's. He cuts his own hair.

  2. Helen rarely buys clothes. She likes to . (make)

  3. I'm not cleaning your boots. You can . (clean)

  4. We hardly ever buy bread. We usually . (bake)

  5. Jack and Joe are folk singers. They sing other people's songs, but they also . (write)

Point D of 4

on my own and by myself

On my own and by myself both mean alone.

on ... own by ...self
on my own by myself
on your own by yourself, by yourselves
on his, her, its own by himself, herself, itself
on our own by ourselves
on their own by themselves
  • I like living on my own. I like living by myself.
  • My grandad prefers to live on his own.
  • Jack was sitting by himself in the corner of the café.
  • Did you travel round Asia on your own?

Point D · Exercise 83.5 · part 1 of 2

Complete the sentences with my own, your own and so on, or myself, yourself and so on.

  1. Example

    Did you travel round Asia on your own?

    AnswerDid you travel round Asia on your own?

  2. The sofa was too heavy for me to shift by .

  3. Nobody helped us decorate the flat. We did it completely on .

  4. Very young children shouldn't go swimming by .

  5. "Who was Tom with at the café?" "No one. He was sitting by ."

Point D · Exercise 83.5 · part 2 of 2

Complete the sentences with my own, your own and so on, or myself, yourself and so on.

  1. I don't take milk in my coffee. I like it on .

  2. Do you like working in a team, or do you prefer working by ?

  3. I walked Sal home because she didn't want to walk back on .

Put it together · Exercise 83.6 · part 1 of 2

Are these sentences right? Write OK, or write the correct sentence.

  1. Example

    Katie would love to have the own house.

    Katie would love to have her own house.

    AnswerKatie would love to have her own house.

  2. Ravi and Kim are neighbours of us.

  3. It was dark. I didn't fancy walking home by my own.

  4. At university I had own room for the first time.

  5. He never joins in. He always sits with himself.

Put it together · Exercise 83.6 · part 2 of 2

Are these sentences right? Write OK, or write the correct sentence.

  1. My aunt and uncle are on a cruise with some friends of them.

  2. Are there any countries that grow all own food?

Lesson 83 · Result

How you did

Next lesson: there ... and it ...Back to the course

–Right

Each point

A. a friend of mine, a friend of yours–Not checkedB. my own, your own–Not checkedC. He cuts his own hair–Not checkedD. on my own and by myself–Not checkedPut it together–Not checked