Au mien, du tien, and c'est à moi

Au mien, du tien: à and de contract

The pronoun's le and les behave like any article: after à and de they fuse.

In order: I prefer my plan to yours; I'm thinking of my parents and yours; your opinion is different from mine; our problems are different from theirs.

La never contracts, so the feminine stays as it is: à la mienne, de la tienne. The toast proves it:

• À la vôtre ! - Cheers! (literally "to yours", your health)
• À la tienne ! - Cheers! (to a friend)

C'est à moi or c'est le mien?

After être, both mean it's mine, with a slight difference in what they answer:

In order: Whose bag is this? It's mine. Two bags? This one is mine.

Être à takes the stressed pronouns from French stressed pronouns:

Elsewhere, as a subject, an object, or after que or a preposition, only le mien works. (The one other home of à moi is straight after a noun, below.)

• Prends la mienne. - Take mine.
• Ta maison est plus grande que la mienne. - Your house is bigger than mine.

For a friend of mine, use à moi or un de mes, never le mien:

• C'est un ami à moi. - He's a friend of mine.
• C'est un de mes amis. - He's one of my friends.

Mistakes English speakers make