***** NOT A TEACHER *****
Hello,
1. The two teachers have given you the answer. If you always say something such as "Tom and Mona are friends of his,"
you will always be speaking good English, and no one will ever question your knowledge of English.
***** NOT A TEACHER *****
I have repeated the warning because the following comments (not "answers") are controversial. That is, some people
say YES YES YES; others say NO NO NO.
2. It may be, indeed, possible to say (in very rare occasions) something like:
"Tom and Mona are friends of him."
a. Some (repeat: some) people say that here's the difference:
i. Tom and Mona are friends of his. = He says, "Tom and Mona are my friends."
ii. Tom and Mona are friends of him. = They say, "He is our friend."
WARNING: Many people do not buy (believe) this analysis. I am giving it to you only so that you can have a diverse
variety of views.
3. Study these two examples that do NOT use the noun "friend":
a. [Mr. X] is not a fan of me. (This was said by a very well-educated columnist for The New York Times, maybe our country's most important newspaper.) What did he mean by using "me" instead of "mine"? I think that it means that Mr. X
says, "I am not the columnist's fan." In other words, Mr. X does not like the columnist's political opinions.
b. A famous American businessman said, "I am not a fan of him." The businessman was referring to the president of a country in the Middle East. Again, the businessman meant that he did not like that president's political policies. In other words, it has nothing to do with a personal relationship.
James
sources:
1. Today's Linguistic URL groups. google. com. [I found it a long time ago on the Web and copied its information. But I cannot locate it again.] It claims that "a friend of me" = a friend of whom; "a friend of mine" = stronger sense of possession.
2. Re: Friend of yours. www. phrases.org.uk
3. I heard both The New York Times columnist and the businessman say those sentences on television. I was jarred (a little surprised and confused), so I immediately copied their words in my notebook.
4. A user at another helpline named Chuncan Feng (who is a teacher of English in his country) opined that "a fan of me" means someone who would be "enthusiastic about my opinions and support me."