Click here for our complete programme to perfect your English grammar.
Possessive pronouns
Possessive pronouns say who something belongs to, but they replace the noun. So we use them alone. In this case, we don't use 'its'. In English, the possessive pronouns are: mine, yours, his, hers, ours and theirs.
- I have a bag - this is mine.
- You have a cat - that cat is yours.
- He has a car - it is his.
- She has a book - it is hers.
- We have a flat - it is ours.
- They have a daughter - she is theirs.
Possessive adjectives
The possessive adjectives in English (also called 'possessive determiners') are: my, your, his, her, its, our and their. They say who something belongs to. Possessive adjectives always come before a noun.
- I have a bag - this is my bag.
- You have a cat - that is your cat.
- He has a car - it is his car.
- She has a book - it is her book.
- The dog has a bed - it is its bed.
- We have a flat - it is our flat.
- They have a daughter - she is their daughter.
Here is a list of both:
| Possessive Pronouns | Possessive Adjectives |
|---|---|
| mine | my |
| your | your |
| his | his |
| hers | her |
| - | its |
| ours | our |
| theirs | their |
Here are some examples of both possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns:
- It's my book. It's mine.
- That's your car. It's yours.
- Those are his shoes. They're his.
- That is her umbrella. That is hers.
- Please open our gift first. Please open ours.
- The students took their books. The students took theirs.
Read our explanation on possessive pronouns here.
Read our explanation on possessive adjectives here.
Try an exercise about possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives here.
Try another exercise about possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives here.