Possessive Pronouns in English Grammar

Possessive Pronouns

Usage

• Replace nouns to show ownership or possession
• Used to describe something belongs to someone or something else
• Can be used as subjects, objects, or complements in a sentence
• Can be used to avoid repetition of nouns in a sentence

Examples

Singular Possessive Pronouns

• My (e.g. "My book is on the table.")
• Your (e.g. "Your car is very nice.")
• His (e.g. "His dog is very friendly.")
• Her (e.g. "Her hair is very long.")
• Its (e.g. "The cat chases its tail.")

Plural Possessive Pronouns

• Our (e.g. "Our team is winning the game.")
• Your (e.g. "Your family is very big.")
• Their (e.g. "Their house is very beautiful.")

Reflexive Possessive Pronouns

• Mine (e.g. "This book is mine.")
• Yours (e.g. "This car is yours.")
• His (e.g. "This bike is his.")
• Hers (e.g. "This phone is hers.")
• Ours (e.g. "This house is ours.")
• Yours (e.g. "This is yours.")
• Theirs (e.g. "This is theirs.")

Possessive Pronouns

Usage

• Replaces nouns to show ownership or possession
• Used to describe something belonging to someone or something else
• Can function as subjects, objects, or complements in a sentence
• Helps avoid repetition of nouns in a sentence

Singular Possessive Pronouns

• My: shows possession, e.g., "My book is on the table."
• Your: shows possession, e.g., "Your car is very nice."
• His: shows possession, e.g., "His dog is very friendly."
• Her: shows possession, e.g., "Her hair is very long."
• Its: shows possession, e.g., "The cat chases its tail."

Plural Possessive Pronouns

• Our: shows possession, e.g., "Our team is winning the game."
• Your: shows possession, e.g., "Your family is very big."
• Their: shows possession, e.g., "Their house is very beautiful."

Reflexive Possessive Pronouns

• Mine: shows ownership, e.g., "This book is mine."
• Yours: shows ownership, e.g., "This car is yours."
• His: shows ownership, e.g., "This bike is his."
• Hers: shows ownership, e.g., "This phone is hers."
• Ours: shows ownership, e.g., "This house is ours."
• Yours: shows ownership, e.g., "This is yours."
• Theirs: shows ownership, e.g., "This is theirs."

Possessive Pronouns

Singular Possessive Pronouns

• "My" shows possession of the speaker (e.g. "My car is red.")
• "Your" shows possession of the person or people being spoken to (e.g. "Your hair looks great today.")
• "His" shows possession of a male person or animal (e.g. "His book is on the table.")
• "Her" shows possession of a female person or animal (e.g. "Her dog is very friendly.")
• "Its" shows possession of an animal or thing (e.g. "The cat chased its tail.")

Plural Possessive Pronouns

• "Our" shows possession of the speaker and others (e.g. "Our team is doing well this season.")
• "Your" shows possession of the people being spoken to (e.g. "Your families are invited to the party.")
• "Their" shows possession of a group of people or things (e.g. "Their cars are parked outside.")

Reflexive Possessive Pronouns

• "Mine" emphasizes possession of the speaker (e.g. "That book is mine.")
• "Yours" emphasizes possession of the person or people being spoken to (e.g. "That's yours, I think.")
• "His" emphasizes possession of a male person or animal (e.g. "That's his book.")
• "Hers" emphasizes possession of a female person or animal (e.g. "That's hers, I'm sure.")
• "Ours" emphasizes possession of the speaker and others (e.g. "That's ours, we bought it together.")
• "Theirs" emphasizes possession of a group of people or things (e.g. "That's theirs, they found it.")