A friend of mine vs. my friend

[hirashin]

Hello, native English speakers. I have another question. Would you help me?

In my knowledge, (a), (b) and (c) are used but (d) sounds odd. Am I right?

(a) Last week I went shopping with a friend of mine.
(b) Last week I went shopping with a friend.
(c) Last week I went shopping with my friend Mary.
(d) Last week I went shopping with my friend.

How about these? Are all of them used meaning the same thing?

(d) Tom is a friend of mine.
(e) Tom is a friend.
(f) Tom is my friend.

Thanks in advance.

Hirashin

 

[Mike Cash]

(d) (the first "d") is also perfectly fine.

The second set are all also perfectly fine.

 

[Cereal]

For the second set, D feels more casual, while E and F feel like they're emphasizing the fact that Tom is your friend.

 

[hirashin]

What did you do yesterday afternoon?
I went shopping with my friend.

Does this conversation sound right?
Don't you think "my friend" should be replaced by "a friend" or "a friend of mine"?

Hirashin

 

[Cereal]

Yes, it would be correct to say "I went shopping with my friend". It would also be correct to replace "my friend" with "a friend" or "a friend of mine".

 

[ClarkH]

I agree with the above posts. Every sentence in this thread sounds perfectly natural and correct. They are all interchangeable.

We use "my friend" all the time.

 

[hirashin]

Thanks, Cereal and ClarkH.

A native English speaker says, "It sounds a little like you only have one friend if you say "I went shopping with my friend".

And another native speaker says:
I think that those two, "a friend" and "a friend of mine", sound better here. "My friend" assumes that the listener knows whom you are talking about. But, I can't really think of a hard-and-fast rule about this.

What do you think?

Hirashin

 

[Cereal]

Hmm, I suppose if you use "my friend", it is better to use it when you're speaking to a person that is NOT your friend. The reason for this is because it suggests that the person you're talking to is NOT your friend. However, if you say something like "I went shopping with my friend from Chicago" and the person you're talking to is NOT your friend from Chicago, then it would not be rude. I hope that makes sense for you, I can clarify it if you want.

So in short, use "my friend" only when speaking to a person who is not your friend (such as family members, acquaintances, etc)
You can use "a friend" or "a friend of mine" anytime you want.

Remember, this is just how I would see it. If you're brought up around a different environment you have different tendencies when speaking English.

 

[hirashin]

Thanks for your reply, Cereal.

Hirashin

 

[ClarkH]

I think it's okay to use "my friend" anytime.

 

[hirashin]

Thanks, Clark.