Mr.English  +  549101 Thu, 31 Jul 08 10:30 AM By all means ask someone else if you still are unsure but I can assure you that what you are suggesting doesn't really make any sense, they are the same. I realise that in other languages phrases often confer different meanings but in English it is often not the case. When you said: "To me, although 'A friend of mine' indicates one person, it refers to one of my friends, whereas "My friend' refers to a specific friend. Eg, John is my friend." My friend does not refer to a specific friend unless a name is mentioned. I think you are getting caught up over something trivial because in my opinion they are the same, just different wordings. Mr.English Joined on Sun, Jul 27 2008 New Member 13

	Yoong Liat  +  549282 Thu, 31 Jul 08 04:32 PM Now as long as no native speaker from our forum agrees with you, I would say that what I said is correct. A BrE native teacher who taught me when I was in grade 5 taught me what I stated..  I'm sure, if you're correct,. a member who is a native speaker will say that I'm wrong.  So far nobody has come forward. So I'm confident that what my English teacher taught me is correct. Yoong Liat Joined on Mon, Sep 4 2006 Veteran Member 6,757

	Avangi  +  549290 Thu, 31 Jul 08 04:46 PM naughtyhina “my shoulders are hearting ” Hi Naughty, welcome to The Forums.  What can we do to relieve your stress? Best wishes,  A. Edit.  Ah, I missed your subject title.  Somehow this got posted in the middle of another thread.  If you're in pain, it should be, "My shoulders are hurting."  Don't forget the capital letter and the period. Okay, I know what happened.  You saw the thread title and thought this was a place to post new sentences to find out if they're correct. Next time, select the forum you want by first clicking "Forums," then choosing one, such as Basic Grammar Questions.  Then find an oval button which says "New Post."  You can then begin a new thread.   Good luck! Avangi Joined on Mon, Nov 19 2007 Veteran Member 8,180 ". . . le plaisir delicieux et toujours nouveau d'une occupation inutile." - Henri de Regnier Capital Letters, Grammar

	Clive  +  549293 Thu, 31 Jul 08 04:52 PM Hi Yoong Liat, I offered you guys a comment earlier, but apparently that didn't address the point at issue. As this is a long thread, it is possible for you to restate the point as issue succinctly? I'd be happy to try to comment, if you wish. Best wishes, Clive Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,612 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

	Avangi  +  549296 Thu, 31 Jul 08 05:07 PM AlexandreAnother “My friend since he's handicapped cannot walk on his own. ”   I'd suggest setting off "since he's handicapped" with commas.  I believe anyone speaking the sentence would pause there for clarity.  I see nothing wrong with the wording.  The usage is common whether you have one friend or many.  If you say "one of my friends," you imply that you have at least two friends.  "A friend of mine" is too cold in this case.  It's only slightly removed from "an acquaintance of mine" in the way it's commonly understood.  "My friend" implies the friendship is more special, though not in the sense that other friends are not equally special. (I'm aware you didn't ask to have this addressed.) Not to beat a dead horse, some have suggested reversing your sentence order.  I think as a topic sentence it's your choice.  I don't find that one version flows better than the other.  Whichever factor you wish to stress should come last.  Your original stresses that he can't walk on his own, and would lead comfortably to more information in that vein.  The alternate stresses that he's handicapped, and would lead in that direction.   - A. (I think this thread is almost ready for prime time.) Avangi Commas

	Yoong Liat  +  549347 Thu, 31 Jul 08 07:18 PM  Hi Clive  Reproduced below is the information you requested. Yoong Liat “ New2grammar “Say, A friend of mine ... instead of my friend. ” A friend of mine ... means one of my friends. My friend refers to one specific friend. ” The above (in bold) is my reply to New2grammar regarding the difference between  'a friend of mine' and 'my friend'. Mr. English, one of our members, says 'My friend' and 'One of my friends' mean the same thing. (He wrote: Hey, I am from the UK, technically 'a friend of mine' and 'my friend' are the same thing, however 'My friend' is used much more commony in both speech and written work.) He insists that he is correct. However, I believe he is wrong. I maintain that, strictly speaking,, "A friend of mine' means ' One of my friends' whereas 'My friend' refers to a specific friend. I would appreciate it very much if you could let me know whether Mr. English is correct. Yoong Liat Grammar, Difference Between

	Clive  +  549364 Thu, 31 Jul 08 08:40 PM Hi, All three expressions are fine to use, of course. Here's how I see them. My friend                Just refers to one person. I may or may not only have one friend. We don't know. A friend of mine     Just refers to one person. I may or may not have only one friend, but perhaps suggests that I have more than one friend. One of my friends   Just refers to one person, but indicates that I have more than one friend. Best wishes, Clive Clive

	Mr.English  +  549397 Thu, 31 Jul 08 10:00 PM Yes what Clive said is a very good way of explaining it, but in essence they are the same and 'my friend' is more commonly used Mr.English