My Friend vs Friend of Mine
The use of the two terms my friend and friend of mine makes the people wonder if there truly exists a difference between my friend and friend of mine as they seem very much alike. There are actually many opinions regarding the use of these two expressions. Grammatically speaking both these expressions denote the same meaning. They both indicate the sense of possession. My is a possessive adjective. Therefore, my means the friend is this person’s friend. On the other hand, mine is a possessive pronoun. So, friend of mine gives a similar meaning to my friend. However, in usage there seems to be a difference between the two expressions my friend and friend of mine.
What does My Friend mean?
We use the expression my friend to indicate the close relationship between you and the friend. In other words, the expression my friend adds special importance and significance to the friend. The expression my friend is generally used in the formal sense, but we use this expression in informal circumstances as well. On the other hand, no indefinite article is needed in the use of the expression my friend. For example, look at the following sentence.
A my friend will visit me today.
The above sentence is wrong in usage. At the same time, you can say ‘My only friend will visit me today.’
What does Friend of Mine mean?
On the other hand, friend of mine does not indicate the close relationship between you and the friend. The expression friend of mine does not show much significance and importance to the friend. Moreover, the expression friend of mine is generally used in the informal sense. The expression friend of mine is very casual in usage than the expression my friend. Then, the expression friend of mine is often accompanied by the indefinite article ‘a’ in its usage. Observe the sentence given below.
A friend of mine will visit me tomorrow.
In this sentence, you can see that the expression friend of mine is preceded by the indefinite article ‘a’.
What is the difference between My Friend and Friend of Mine?
• We use the expression my friend to indicate the close relationship between you and the friend. On the other hand, friend of mine does not indicate the close relationship between you and the friend.
• The expression my friend adds special importance and significance to the friend. On the other hand, the expression friend of mine does not show much significance and importance to the friend. This is the main difference between the two expressions, my friend and friend of mine.
• The expression my friend is generally used in the formal sense. On the other hand, the expression friend of mine is generally used in the informal sense. This is another difference between the two expressions, my friend and friend of mine.
• The expression friend of mine is often accompanied by the indefinite article ‘a’ in its usage.
• On the other hand, no indefinite article is needed in the use of the expression my friend. This is one of the main differences between my friend and friend of mine.
These differences should be understood so that there won’t be confusion regarding the usage of the two words, my friend and friend of mine.