[Grammar] Friend of mine, redundancy?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Yura Reiri

Junior Member
Joined
May 26, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Tagalog
Home Country
Philippines
Current Location
Philippines
Is the phrase friend of mine, an example of redundancy?

Should it be a friend of meinstead?

I'm quite used to using the first mentioned phrase, until I saw one article saying that it is actually a redundancy.

Thank you.
 

SoothingDave

VIP Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2009
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
"She's a friend of mine" is a common expression. I wouldn't worry about the possibility for a little redundancy.
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
And a friend of me doesn't work.
 

sunsunmoon

Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Spanish
Home Country
Argentina
Current Location
Japan
1. She is a friend of mine.
2. She is my friend.

Do these sentences mean exactly the same thing to you?
Do you hear #2 more frequently than #1?
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic

Barb_D

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
If you look up "double genitive" or "double possessive" you'll find a lot of information on this.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top