Of yours

[FalaGringo]

Does this "Of yours" work in English?

Examples
Your friend.
That friend of yours.

Your crazy pen.
That crazy pen of yours.

Your messy room.
That messy room of yours.

 

[jutfrank]

Yes, it does. As a native speaker, you must know it does. What makes you ask?

 

[FalaGringo]

I only wanted to clarify whether or not it was possible as I'm making a comparison with another language.

 

[tedmc]

I notice some non-native speakers are fond of using "of mine/yours" but I don't see the need for using it other than for some variation occasionally.

 

[probus]

This native speaker for one is extemely fond of the idiom of mine/his/hers/theirs. This fondness is not at all exclusive to non-native-speakers.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I notice some non-native speakers are fond of using "of mine/yours" but I don't see the need for using it other than for some variation occasionally.

It can often clarify what you're saying. Compare:

- I invited a friend to the party.
- I invited a friend of mine to the party.
- I invited a friend of yours to the party.
- I invited a friend of ours to the party.
- I invited a friend of hers to the party.
- I invited a friend of his to the party.
- I invited a friend of theirs to the party.

See what a difference it can make?

 

[tedmc]

You can have all those with the possessive pronoun in front, right?
I invited my/your/our/his/her/their friend to the party.

 

[GoesStation]

You can have all those with the possessive pronoun in front, right?
I invited my/your/our/his/her/their friend to the party.

Yes, but the meaning can be a little different.

 

[tedmc]

Yes, but the meaning can be a little different.

What is the difference?

 

[GoesStation]

A car of mine: one of my cars.
My car: probably my only car.

The distinction is less likely with friend, but it's possible.

 

[tedmc]

Does the possessive my imply my only?

 

[GoesStation]

Does the possessive my imply my only?

It can when it's followed by a singular noun.

 

[kilroy65]

You can have all those with the possessive pronoun in front, right?
I invited my/your/our/his/her/their friend to the party.

Those are possessive adjectives. The possessive pronouns are mine, yours, ours, his, hers, ours, theirs.

 

[jutfrank]

Those are possessive adjectives.

This is a tricky terminological point. Many teaching references call them possessive pronouns but some call them possessive adjectives (to distinguish them from mine/yours/ours, etc.). I call them possessive determiners (for my own reasons). Grammarians consider them pronouns, as they substitute noun phrases in the genitive case (his friend substitutes Bob's friend or the man's friend, etc).

 

[jutfrank]

I notice some non-native speakers are fond of using "of mine/yours" but I don't see the need for using it other than for some variation occasionally.

I presume that when you say "the need for it", you mean the use of it, right?

I think this is a very hard question to answer generally because there can be such a wide variety of reasons for a speaker to prefer, say, of yours over your _____ . I'd say that many of these reasons are to do with expressing a certain tone. I notice that Rover_KE has deleted part of your post #4, reading "I think it can be slightly argumentative", which confuses me because a) you're right—it can be used to create a somewhat cynical tone, and b) I don't see how that comment could be considered argumentative enough to warrant deletion. (I'm probably missing something here.)

For an example of how of yours can be used to sound disapproving, consider how someone might say:

Where's that boyfriend of yours?