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My vs Yours - What's the difference?

my | yours |

As a noun my

is midge, blackfly, midget, gnat or my can be mu (greek letter).

As a pronoun yours is

that which belongs to you (singular); the possessive second-person singular pronoun used without a following noun.

my

English

(wikipedia my)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) my, apocopated form of min, myn, from (etyl) . More at (l).

Determiner

  • Belonging to me.
  • Don't you know my name?
    I recognised him because he had attended my school.
    Derived terms
    (terms derived using my) * my arse * my ass * my bad * my eye * my fellow Americans * my foot * my God * my goodness * my gosh * my pleasure * my son * my way or the highway * my word

    Etymology 2

    An abbreviation of an oath such as my word'' or ''my lord

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • (dated) Used to express surprise, shock or amazement.
  • My , what big teeth you have!
    Derived terms
    * my my

    yours

    English

    (wikipedia yours)

    Pronoun

  • That which belongs to you (singular); the possessive second-person singular pronoun used without a following noun.
  • :
  • That which belongs to you (plural); the possessive second-person plural pronoun used without a following noun.
  • *
  • *:“Heavens!” exclaimed Nina, “the blue-stocking and the fogy!—and yours are'' pale blue, Eileen!—you’re about as self-conscious as Drina—slumping there with your hair tumbling ''à la Mérode! Oh, it's very picturesque, of course, but a straight spine and good grooming is better.”
  • :
  • Usage notes

    * In British English the adverb almost invariably follows the word yours'' at the end of a letter; in most dialects of American English it usually precedes it. As a general rule, ''sincerely'' is only employed if the name of the recipient is already known to the writer; a letter begun with ''Dear Sir'' or ''Dear Madam'' finishes with ''faithfully''. ''Yours'' on its own and ''yours ever are less formal than the other forms.

    Derived terms

    * up yours * what's yours * you'll get yours * yours truly * you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours

    References