This is a lap top of me. /Vs./ This is a picture of me.

[xiaoen]

1. This is a lap top of mine. (correct)
2. This is a lap top of me. (wrong)
3. This is a picture of me. (correct)
4. This is my picture. (correct)

Hi,
#2 and #3 have the same construction (of me). Why is #3 correct when #2 is wrong? They both use "of me" construction. What's the reason?

 

[GoesStation]

Number 3 and 4 don't mean exactly the same thing. Consider the questions these statements answer:

What is this a picture of? It's a picture of me.
Whose picture is this? It's my picture.

We often understand the possessive to mean that you are the subject of a picture, but it can also mean that you own the picture. You can't be the subject of a laptop, so the first understanding isn't possible.

Note that laptop is one word when it refers to a computer. Lap top means "the top of your lap".

 

[xiaoen]

Thank you but I think you misunderstood me. I don't have a problem with #4.

#2 and #3 have the same construction (of me). Why is #3 correct when #2 is wrong? They both use "of me" construction. What's the reason?

 

[emsr2d2]

"This is a picture of me" means "This is a picture in which I appear". That's not the same meaning as "of me" in "This is a laptop of me" which is an incorrect wording of "This is my laptop".

 

[xiaoen]

Oh, now I see now. Thank you.

a picture of me => this is correct because it means I am in the picture
a lap top of me => this is wrong because it means I am inside the lap top

Is may analysis correct?

 

[emsr2d2]

No one would think that "a laptop of me" meant "I am inside the laptop". If I heard someone say "This is a laptop of me" I would assume they were a non-native speaker and that they meant "This is my laptop". I would simply assume they had made an error.

The only time (that I can think of) when "of me" means "I am in it" is specifically in the phrase "This is a photo of me".

 

[GoesStation]

Thank you but I think you misunderstood me. I don't have a problem with #4.

#2 and #3 have the same construction (of me). Why is #3 correct when #2 is wrong? They both use "of me" construction. What's the reason?

Please re-read my post #2. I used your sentence #4 to illustrate why #2 doesn't work.

 

[GoesStation]

a picture of me => this is correct because it means I am in the picture
a laptop [STRIKE]lap top[/STRIKE] of me => this is wrong because it means I am inside the laptop. [STRIKE]lap top[/STRIKE]

Is ​my [STRIKE]may[/STRIKE] analysis correct?

"Of" means "including" in This is a picture of me. It would mean "belonging to" in ​This is a laptop of me, but we don't use that construction.

"Laptop" is one word when it's a noun. Lap top means "on the top of the lap".

 

[xiaoen]

Thank you.

What's the difference between these two:

1. a picture of myself.
2. a picture of me.

Do they have the same meaning?

 

[emsr2d2]

The first is grammatically incorrect so it doesn't mean anything.

 

[xiaoen]

But I see in google that in 2012 one British English speaker in the below forum has said that "a picture of myself/yourself" works.
That's why I got confused when I saw her comment.



I found this link => http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic118697.html

 

[Tdol]

Myself is often used incorrectly. If there is no good reason - emphasis or clarity - to use it, it is better not to.

 

[xiaoen]

1. Do you have a picture of yourself?:tick:
2. This is a picture of myself.:cross:

Why is #1 correct when #2 is wrong? They have the same construction. (yourself/myself both are reflexive pronouns)

 

[Rover_KE]

They do not have the same construction.

'Yourself' refers back to 'you'; 'myself' incorrectly refers back to 'this'.

'I took a selfie' means 'I took a picture of myself' ('myself' refers back to 'I').

***

Note again how I have punctuated my sentence with the parenthetical remark.

 

[xiaoen]

Thank you. What is we use it with "you" and "he"?

1. This is a picture of you.

2. This is a picture of yours.

3. This is a picture of your.

4. This is a picture of yourself.

5. This is a picture of he.:cross:
6. This is a picture of his.:tick:
7. This is a picture of him.

8. This is a picture of himself.

Am I right?

 

[Tdol]

Basically, try to avoid using myself unless it falls into a few categories:

I did it myself. (= I didn't have anyone else to help me- emphasis)
I cut myself (= I didn't cut someone else, as the verb allows for anyone to be cut- clarity)

There are also a very few truly reflexive verbs in English- steel/avail myself, though the latter is not reflexive in all variants- I heard it used in a non-reflexive manner in the Philippines

This doesn't mean it is always wrong when used in other contexts, but it is mostly the case, even when used by native speakers, many of whom think it is a posh way of saying me.