a friend of mine or my friend?

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi All,

I have trouble to use the my friend and a friend of mine expressions.

he is a friend of mine - that’s OK but

  • send mail to my friend or to a friend of mine?
  • speak to my friend or to a friend of mine?
2

If you have only one friend, or you’re talking about one particular friend that you’ve already mentioned in the conversation, you would say “my friend”.

If you are talking about “one of my friends”, you would say “a friend of mine”. Otherwise it sounds like you have only one friend.