Why do you say "friend of mine" instead of "friend of me"?

Question

I think _friend of mine_ can be translated to _my friend._ In that case, doesn't _friend of me_ make more sense? If we translate _friend of mine_ to _one of my friends_ then I guess _friend of mine_ makes sense for _my friends_ being _mine._ Is there a difference? When do you say _... of mine_ instead of _my ..._? Is there a specific situation when you use one or the other?

Answer 1

Apply the following grammatical rules in order to use "mine" and "me" correctly:

(1) "Me" is categorized as an object pronoun; and,

(2) "Mine" is categorized as a possessive pronoun.

Indicate possession of the noun you are trying to modify (i.e. "friend"), in the manner you are questioning, not by using "me," but by using "mine" because "mine" is a possessive pronoun. In other words, object pronouns such as "me" should be used when the pronoun is at the receiving end of the action that is articulated in a sentence. A proper use of "me" might be: "He told me not to talk." By contrast, as I said, "mine" is a possessive pronoun, which indicates ownership. A proper use of "mine" could be, "That guitar is mine."

You are trying to express ownership, when you say "friend of mine." Of course, you do not own your friend. You are merely trying to indicate that that friend is yours. That is what I mean by ownership. By contrast, "me" is properly used when what "me" refers to is receiving the action that the subject of the sentence is imposing upon the object of a sentence. For example, again consider the sentence: "He told me not to talk." "He" is the subject of the sentence, or the entity doing so something to another entity. "Me" is the entity that "He" is engaging, when he says not to talk.

"Mine" should be used to express ownership, while "me" should be used to express how the action expressed in the sentence affects you, as it is imposed upon you by the subject of the sentence.