Mine: Definition, Examples, and Correct Usage

Meaning 1：my possession (mine)

mine 🔊

/maɪn/

pron.

It means 'the thing that belongs to me'. It is used instead of saying 'my + thing'.

my possession 🔊

➕

/maɪ pəˈzɛʃən/

pron.

Used to refer to something belonging to the speaker, without needing to repeat the noun. It replaces 'my + noun'.

📁 Category：Objects & Materials 🔖 Level：elementary

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Old English 'mīn' (Proto-Germanic '*minaz'), first-person possessive pronoun.

💡 Mnemonic

Tap your chest saying 'It's mine!' – MINE sounds like 'my own'.

📖 Example

We both reached for the same book in the library, but I said, "Wait, I think this book is mine." 🔊 Both of us went for the same book in the library, but I said, 'Wait, I believe this book is mine.'

🔗 Collocations

a friend of mine – a friend who belongs to me

that book of mine – that book which I own

mine alone – belonging only to me

🔄 Synonyms

my own (adj.) – emphasizing personal possession

belonging to me (phrase) – indicating ownership

my property (n.) – something that I legally own

🚫 Antonyms

yours (pron.) – belonging to you

his (pron.) – belonging to him

theirs (pron.) – belonging to them

📖 Cultural Story

'Mine' comes from Old English 'mīn', from Proto-Germanic '*minaz', cognate with German 'mein'. It is a fundamental possessive pronoun in English, used since the 9th century.