mine | TKG English Learner's Dictionary

minepronoun

American /maɪn/ British /maɪn/

very commondefining vocabulary

the thing or things belonging to or connected with the speaker
Mine is the independent possessive, used without a following noun: this book is mine. The possessive determiner, used directly before a noun, is the different word my (my book), a separate entry.
- This umbrella is mine.
- Is that seat mine or yours?
- The blue backpack is mine.
- Whose turn is it? Mine.
Compare ours; yours

Word family

I (the subject form)
me (the object form)
my (the possessive, directly before a noun)
myself

Usage

Mine never comes directly before a noun; that place belongs to my (my book, not mine book). Mine stands alone, in the place a noun phrase would fill: this book is mine, not this is mine book.

Common mistakes

This book is my. This book is mine.
Without a following noun, use the independent possessive mine, not my.

See also my (the possessive, directly before a noun: my book); I

For translators

Grammar trap English marks the independent possessive with its own form (mine, hers, ours), separate from the possessive determiner (my, her, our) that goes before a noun; many languages use one possessive form throughout.