My own ….
My own, your own etc, and how these are used.
We say the personal pronoun before the word ‘own’
‘my own / your own / his own / her own / our own / their own’
My own flat / your own decision / his own house / her own business etc
You can’t say ‘an own….’
My own…. / your own …. means that something is only mine / yours etc; it is not shared or borrowed.
- I don’t want to share a flat – I want my own house with my own garden.
- It’s my own fault I didn’t get the job- I sent my application in after the closing date.
- Is it alright if you share a hotel room with me – or would you prefer your own room?
- The boys want to have their own tent – ours isn’t big enough for them!
- They’re all students, sharing a house, but everyone has their own study area in their (own) rooms.
- You’re not borrowing my history essay – you can write your own.
You can also use ‘ …own … to say that you do something yourself instead of somebody else doing it for you.
- We usually mend our own car – (ie we don’t take it to a garage).
- She grows her own vegetables ( she grows them herself so she doesn’t buy them from shops).
1. [Match]
Can you pair these up so they make sense?
(To have a mind of your own = to have a strong sense of what you want to do / say, despite pressures and influences around you.)
Answers for Quiz [1].
- 1. all their own food. (correct)
- 2. just cut my own. (correct)
- 3. it’s all her own fault. (correct)
- 4. working on our own. (correct)
- 5. a mind of his own. (correct)
- 6. quite enough of their own. (correct)
- 7. her own? (correct)
- 8. your own! (correct)
- 9. writes songs of her own. (correct)
- 10. his own. (correct)