On your own means alone, without other people, or by yourself, without help. The first meaning is about company: She lives on her own. The second is about help: I did the whole project on my own. The possessive changes with the person: on my own, on his own, on their own.
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on my/your/her own (= alone / without help); live/travel + on your own; do + something + on your own; by yourself
- She moved to London at nineteen and lived on her own for the first time.
- Our new colleague learned the booking software on his own in just two weeks.
- I've travelled on my own a lot, and I actually enjoy the freedom.
What changed
First versionI fixed the washing machine by my own and saved some money.
RevisionI fixed the washing machine on my own and saved some money.
This sentence mixes two correct phrases: by myself and on my own. Both mean “alone” or “without help”, but by goes with myself, and own needs on. The hybrid by my own doesn't exist in English.
On your own simply says that nobody else is there; it says nothing about feelings. If someone feels sad because they are alone, use lonely: I live on my own, but I never feel lonely. A synonym for on your own is by yourself: I travelled by myself.
Your turn
My brother is only nine, so he can't stay at home ___ for the whole weekend.
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on his own — This is about a child staying at home without adults, so on his own is right. By his own is a mix of by himself and on his own, and nobody says it.
Write about something you learned by yourself, without a course or a teacher. Say what you learned and how long it took, using on my own.
I learned to edit videos on my own, and it took me about three months.
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