I was wondering which one was right.
We say a friend of mine, but don't say a friend of me. Why is it so? I guess we say 'literary works of Mark Twain' not 'literary works of Mark Twain's' / 'a pessimistic view of him', not 'a pessimistic view of his'. Am I correct?
I will be glad if you could tell me the different usages between them.
'of + possesive noun' 'of + nominative noun'
p.s. I am really thankful to you for your help with correcting my English. Your proofreading and advice are of great help to me. Thanks again, and Merry Christmas in advance
*** NOT A TEACHER ***
Zzang,
You have asked an excellent (and super difficult) question. After
checking my books, I wish to share some thoughts with you.
(1) I think that in some languages, people can say:
Tom is
a my friend.
In English, you cannot say that. So you must say:
Tom is a friend of
mine. (Why can't you use "me"? Well,
"me" is not a possessive form. You probably remember that it is
an objective form: Mona loves me; Give the book to me.)
(2) When you use pronouns, you
usually use the possessive
after "of":
This is a hat of
hers.
I love this country of
ours.
NOTE: Sometimes there is a difference of meaning between the
possessive and objective:
What is your opinion of
him? = Tell me how you feel about that person.
I do not agree with that opinion of
his. = His opinion (what he thinks).
Here is a famous example used by many books:
Here is a picture of
her. (When you look at the picture, you see her face.)
Here is a picture of
hers. (It is one of the pictures that she owns.)
*****
When it comes to nouns, you have a choice:
I am a friend of Tom./ I am a friend of Tom's.
Both are correct.
CAREFUL:
The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual (1994) reminds us:
of + possessive
only for
(a) people (not things). A friend of Tom's; NOT: a friend of the school's.
(b) a portion (a part) of the person's possessions.
The friends of John Doe came to his funeral. (All -- not just some --of
his friends came.) I guess that is why you should say "The literary
works of Mark Twain," for you are not referring only to a part of
his possessions. I think that you
could say: This is a short story of
Mark Twain's (a portion of his possessions).
*****
This is a matter that confuses us native speakers, too. Just post your
questions here, and the teachers (and non-teachers) will be delighted
to answer you.
P.S. A cultural note about the United States. Some people prefer to
say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." Why? Because
people in this country believe in different religions.
Thank you & Happy New Year (It is OK to say "Happy New Year"
because almost everyone accepts the calendar that we use.)
