Possessive Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives: With Examples and Exercises

Beginner

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.

possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives

Examples:

  • This bag is mine.
  • That cat is yours.
  • The car is his.
  • The book is hers.
  • The flat is ours.
  • The house 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.

Examples:

  • This is my bag.
  • That is your cat.
  • It is his car.
  • It is her book.
  • The dog is in its bed.
  • It is our flat.
  • It is their house.

Both lists

Here is a list of both:

Possessive pronounsPossessive adjectives
–

Examples of both

Here are some examples of both possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns:

Examples:

  • This is my coat. It’s mine.
  • That’s your phone. It’s yours.
  • Those are his keys. They’re his.
  • Those are her gloves. They’re hers.
  • That is our car. That is ours.
  • That is their house. That is theirs.

Learn Possessive Adjectives | Easy, Beginner English Grammar

GRAMMAR REFERENCE

Possessive Adjectives & Pronouns

My / mine, your / yours, his, her / hers…

ADJECTIVES + NOUN
I my
you your
he his
she her
it its
we our
they their
PRONOUNS (ALONE)
I mine
you yours
he his
she hers
it –
we ours
they theirs
✓ ADJECTIVE
my / your / his… + noun
This is my bag.
✓ PRONOUN
mine / yours / hers… = no noun
This bag is mine.
? BOTH
adjective → pronoun
It's my coat. It's mine.
HOW WE USE THEM
I my bag → mine
YOU your cat → yours
HE his car → his
SHE her book → hers
WE our car → ours
THEY their house → theirs
REMEMBER
Pronouns stand alone — That cat is yours. (not That is yours cat.)
No pronoun for "its" — The dog is in its bed. (we don't use its alone)

Practice exercises

Possessive adjectives 0 / 6
Possessive pronouns 0 / 5
Adjective or pronoun? 0 / 6
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