Question

Choose the correct option to fill in the blank so that the sentence uses correct grammar.
She is a close friend of .

• A. my
• B. I
• C. me
• D. mine

Hint:

Think about which word can stand alone after "of" without a noun right after it.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

This sentence needs a possessive pronoun that can stand alone after the word "of", without a noun right after it.

1. my: my is a possessive adjective. It must sit directly before a noun, as in my friend. It cannot stand by itself after "of", so this option does not fit.
2. I: I is a subject pronoun, used before a verb, as in I write. It never follows a preposition like "of", so this option is wrong.
3. me: me is an object pronoun, used after a verb or preposition, as in give it to me. But English does not say "a friend of me" in this fixed phrase, so this option does not work here.
4. mine: mine is an absolute possessive pronoun. English speakers use the pattern "a/this/that + noun + of + mine/yours/his/hers/ours/theirs" to show that someone belongs to a group linked to a person, like a friend of mine, a book of hers.

Only mine slots into this double genitive pattern correctly, so option D is the answer.

Let's summarize:

• Use my right before a noun, never alone.
• Use mine after "of" to mean one of my friends, one of my things.

Once you spot this of plus possessive pattern, the answer becomes quick to pick.