A Friend of Mine or A Photo of Me?
By the end: I can distinguish association or possession from the person represented.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Choose a short recording.
One of a person’s associates
Use a friend of mine/yours/hers rather than a friend of me. The possessive identifies whose group the person belongs to.
A friend of mine lives here.
She’s a colleague of his.
The person represented
An ordinary object pronoun can name who appears in a photo or is discussed.
This is a photo of me.
They showed a picture of her.
An object associated with someone
A photo of mine means a photo belonging to or associated with me. It does not by itself say who is in it.
A photo of mine won a prize.
This photo of me belongs to my sister.
Guided practice
Say or write your answer first. Compare form and meaning with the model.
1. Complete: She’s a friend of ___. Refer to I.
Compare a model and explanation
mine
Use a possessive pronoun for this association.
2. Complete: This is a photo of ___. You are in the photo.
Compare a model and explanation
me
Me identifies who is depicted.
3. Correct: He’s a colleague of she.
Compare a model and explanation
He’s a colleague of hers.
Use hers in the association pattern.
4. Correct: A friend of my lives here.
Compare a model and explanation
A friend of mine lives here.
Mine stands without a following noun.
5. Does a photo of mine prove I appear in it?
Compare a model and explanation
No. It can mean my photograph without depicting me.
Association does not determine the image’s subject.
6. Does a photo of me prove I own it?
Compare a model and explanation
No. It identifies who appears in it.
Ownership is separate.
7. Rewrite: One of their neighbours helped.
Compare a model and explanation
A neighbour of theirs helped.
Use theirs.
8. Describe a photograph that belongs to Ana and depicts you.
Compare a model and explanation
It’s a photo of me, and it belongs to Ana.
Avoid making ownership and depiction interchangeable.
A short conversation
Listen first, then open the transcript when useful.
Open the conversation transcript
A: A friend of mine took this photo.
B: Is it a photo of you?
A: No, it’s a photo of my brother. The picture belongs to me.
B: Then it’s a photo of yours, but not a photo of you.
Listening checks
Listen to each extract or open its transcript. These three questions have a separate score.
Mastery quiz
Choose the best answer for each situation. The score is out of eight.
Use it in your own words
Speaking 1
Introduce two people through association.
Reveal a possible response
A friend of mine works here. A colleague of hers lives nearby.
Success check: Use independent possessive pronouns.
Speaking 2
Describe who appears in two photographs.
Reveal a possible response
This is a photo of me. That is a photo of my sister.
Success check: Keep depiction clear.
Put it all together
Explain a photograph’s owner, photographer and subject separately.
Reveal a possible response
This photo belongs to Ana. A friend of hers took it. It’s a photo of me.
Success check: Do not infer one role from another.
Take it with you
I can distinguish association or possession from the person represented.