Language is the medium to have a conversation between human beings. It has seen many changes and is constantly updated to comply with modern writing and speaking.
It takes many components like nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, etc. To complete a sentence.
My and Mine are both possessive adjectives that indicate a type of right to something or any possession of anything. It can be of either any living or any non-living thing.
It is important to know the difference between the two, as mixing them can make any sentence incorrect.
Key Takeaways
- “My” is a possessive adjective that comes before a noun, while “Mine” is a possessive pronoun that stands alone.
- “My” shows ownership of the speaker, while “Mine” indicates a request without the need for a noun.
- “My” is always used before a noun, while “Mine” is used when the speaker refers to something as his or hers.
My vs Mine
‘My’ is a term used in sentence formation. My is used before a noun. For example, My shirt is black. My can be used at the start or in the sentence. Mine is used after a noun. For example, that black shirt is mine. Mine always comes at the end of the sentence. Repetition of words can be avoided using the term ‘mine.’
My is a possessive adjective and pronoun. It is spoken by the speakers to emphasize an object or any noun that belongs to themselves.
Example: “Look at my new pens and notebooks for school!” It can be used for both plural and singular nouns.
Mine is a possessive pronoun that shows extreme ownership over a noun. It makes a sentence shorter by using itself when it is clear what is getting discussed in a conversation.
“The glass that you are drinking from is mine” can be taken as a good example.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | My | Mine |
|---|---|---|
| Position in a dialogue | My comes before a noun/object in a sentence. | Mine comes at the end of a dialogue. |
| Repetition | In a with My, words are repeated. | Mine is used as it avoids repetition of words. |
| Relation with noun | It is followed by a noun. | The noun comes before Mine. |
| Other meanings | An expression of surprise, such as “My gosh,” “Oh My God,” etc. And in a sentence where a person wants to show appreciation or respect. | A stock or reserve of minerals is also called a Mine. For example, Coal Mine, Gold Mine, etc. |
| Examples | “It is My book!”, “My meal is not fully cooked.”, etc. | “You are Mine.”, “This suitcase is Mine.”, etc. |
What is My?
My is a possessive adjective, an adjective is a word that tells you more about a noun, and a possessive adjective is a word that indicates a sort of strong ownership over something at a noun. It can be used either for singular nouns or plural nouns.
There are seven possessive adjectives in the English language that are: My, your, his, her, its, our, and their. And are used when a person wants to indicate or show their ownership over a noun.
As opposed to Mine, My requires another word, a noun, to clarify the meaning of the speech.
Aside from the popular definition that means ownership of nouns, the word is used in many regular phrases like “Oh My God,” “oh My word,” and to show love and affection to family, friends, and other known people as “oh, yes My darling.”, “oh, My dear, are you sick?” etc.
What is Mine?
Mine is a pronoun that is highly possessive. A pronoun is used in exchange for a noun that is used to avoid the repetition of words in a sentence.
It shortens the sentence and is used to avoid repetition in a sentence. Sometimes possessive pronouns can also act as the subject/ object of the sentence.
It makes the speech sound more superior and composed. As an example: “Your choice of clothes is similar to mine.” And “Your choice of clothes is similar to my clothes.”
It can be seen from this shot example that how the use of Mine cuts a sentence out of some words and makes it sound more interesting by avoiding the repetition of words.
Mine also has some other definitions, like the place of extraction for natural resources and the process of making cryptocurrency. And even though it shortens the length of sentences, it cannot start dialogues, something that ‘My’ has the ability to perform.
Main Differences Between My and Mine
- Mine cannot be put before a noun, and My follows a noun. “Mine coffee cup” would be incorrect. “My coffee cup” is correct.
- Mine has the ability to support itself as it is a pronoun, and pronouns have the ability to stand on their own, on the other hand, My cannot stand on its own as it is an adjective and needs an additional word, a noun for the completion of the speech.
- It is seen that Mine makes a sentence shorter of at least one word comparatively to My. For example: “The pen is mine.” “This pen is my pen.”
- My can start a sentence, while in comparison, Mine is placed at the end of a sentence. A speech cannot be started with Mine. Example: “My phone!”, “The phone is mine.”
- Aside from the basic possessive words, both of these words have other meanings of My is to show off surprise or respect. For example, “Of course, My dear.” And Mine also means a place of a big collection of natural sources.
- https://aap.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00201746908601564
- https://books.google.co.in/books?id=8NRWAAAAMAAJ&q=my+vs+mine&dq=my+vs+mine&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJj6m1y8fwAhUCOSsKHXQDA9M4ChDoATAEegQIAhAD
Last Updated : 20 June, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
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