/Pronouns
A2Pronouns

Possessive Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives

1

What is it?

Possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns both show ownership, but they're used differently. POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) MUST have a noun after them: "my book" / "your car". POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS (mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs) stand ALONE (no noun after): "The book is mine." They replace the adjective + noun to avoid repetition: "This is my book. That is yours (= your book)." Key rule: Adjective + noun | Pronoun alone.

2

How to form it

SubjectPositiveNegativeQuestion
Possessive Adjectivesmy, your, his, her, its, our, their + NOUNnot my bookIs this your book?
Possessive Pronounsmine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs (ALONE)not mineIs this yours?
I / memy book (adj) → This book is mine. (pronoun)not applicableIs this my book? / Is this mine?
youyour book (adj) → This book is yours. (pronoun)not applicableIs this your book? / Is this yours?
he / shehis/her book (adj) → This book is his/hers. (pronoun)not applicableIs this his/her book? / Is this his/hers?
we / theyour/their book (adj) → This book is ours/theirs. (pronoun)not applicableIs this our/their book? / Is this ours/theirs?
  • • Possessive adjectives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their (MUST have noun after)
  • • Possessive pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs (stand ALONE, no noun)
  • • Adjectives come BEFORE nouns → my book, your car, his phone
  • • Pronouns stand ALONE or after 'to be' → This is mine. / The book is yours.
  • • I → my (adj) / mine (pronoun) | you → your / yours | he → his / his (same!)
  • • she → her / hers | we → our / ours | they → their / theirs
  • • ITS (adj only, no pronoun form) → The dog wagged its tail.
  • • Common pattern: This is my book. = This book is mine. = This is mine.
3

When to use it

  1. 1

    Possessive adjectives — before nouns (must have noun)

    "my book" / "your car" / "his phone" / "her bag" / "its tail" / "our house" / "their dog"

  2. 2

    Possessive pronouns — alone (no noun after)

    "The book is mine." / "This is yours." / "The phone is his." / "The house is ours." / "That dog is theirs."

  3. 3

    Use pronouns to avoid repetition

    "This is my book and that is your book." → "This is my book and that is yours." (avoid repeating "book")

  4. 4

    After "of" — use pronouns (a friend of mine/yours/his)

    "He's a friend of mine." (not: a friend of my*) / "She's a colleague of yours." / "That dog of theirs is loud."

  5. 5

    Questions with "whose" — both forms work

    "Whose book is this?" → "It's my book." (adjective) OR "It's mine." (pronoun)

4

Common mistakes

This is my.

This is mine. OR This is my book.

Possessive adjectives need a noun. Use pronoun 'mine' alone or add a noun after 'my'.

This is mine book.

This is my book. OR This book is mine.

Possessive pronouns stand alone. Don't put a noun after them.

The book is my.

The book is mine.

After 'to be', use possessive pronoun (mine), not adjective (my).

a friend of my

a friend of mine

After 'of', use possessive pronoun (mine), not adjective (my).

5

Quick reference

  • Adjectives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their (+ noun required)
  • Pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs (alone, no noun)
  • Adjective before noun → my book, your car, his phone
  • Pronoun alone → This is mine. / The book is yours.
  • Avoid repetition → This is my book and that is yours. (not: your book)
  • After 'of' → a friend of mine (not: of my*)
  • HIS: same both ways → his book / This is his.
  • ITS: adjective only (no pronoun) → The dog wagged its tail.
6

Natural conversation example

Comparing belongings

T

Tom

Is this your pen or mine?
L

Lisa

It's mine. Your pen is on the table.
T

Tom

Oh right! And whose book is this? Is it his?
L

Lisa

No, his book is blue. This one is hers.
T

Tom

We should organize our things better!
L

Lisa

Yes! Let's put ours here and theirs over there.
T

Tom

Good idea! My desk is messy, but yours is always clean!

Practice Exercises

Complete with possessive adjective or pronoun.

  1. 1.
    This is book. (my/mine)
  2. 2.
    The book is . (my/mine)
  3. 3.
    Is this car? (your/yours)
  4. 4.
    Is this ? (your/yours)
  5. 5.
    That is phone. (his)
  6. 6.
    That phone is . (his)
Possessive PronounsAll TopicsReflexive Pronouns

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