Possessive Pronouns
What are Possessive Pronouns?
Possessive pronouns are words used to indicate that something belongs to someone or has a direct relationship with someone else. They are often used in speech and writing to avoid repetition. Consider this example:
- I had dinner with Jane and Jane’s brother, Michael.
To avoid repeating the name Jane in the sentence, we use the possessive pronoun her to make the sentence neater and less repetitive:
- I had dinner with Jane and her brother, Michael.
Level: beginner
Subject | Object | Possessive adjective | Possessive pronounce |
---|---|---|---|
I | me | my | mine |
you | you | your | yours |
he | him | his | his |
she | her | her | hers |
it | it | its | – |
we | us | our | ours |
they | them | their | theirs |
Be careful! |
---|
Possessive pronouns do not have an apostrophe:
|
We can use a possessive pronoun instead of a full noun phrase to avoid repeating words:
Is that John’s car?
No, it’s mine. (NOT No, it’s [my car].)Whose coat is this?
Is it yours? (NOT Is it [your coat]?)Her coat is grey.
Mine is brown. (NOT[My coat]is brown.)
We can use possessive pronouns and nouns after of. We can say:
Susan is one of my friends. > Susan is a friend of mine.
(NOT Susan is a friendof me.)I am one of Susan’s friends. > I am a friend of Susan’s.
(NOT I am a friendof Susan.)
Possessive Pronouns Examples
Here are some examples of dependent possessive pronouns in sentences:
- Does this key open my door or your door?
- I will bring my favorite beer to the party.
- She could not believe her
- His shoes were old and worn.
- They promised to do their
- Amazon sent an email to its
Here are some examples of independent possessive pronouns in sentences:
- Who owns this bike? Is it yours?
- That’s ours. Please don’t touch it.
- The land west of the field is theirs.
- This money is all mine.
Simplify Your Sentence
Above all, the objective of using possessive pronouns is to simplify your sentence. This will provide clarity and even give your speech and writing a sense of style. Remember these three golden rules to use possessive pronouns correctly:
- Never use an apostrophe with possessive pronouns.
- A dependent possessive pronoun is followed by a noun or a noun with an adjective modifier (it needs one because it is dependent).
Possessive Pronoun Quiz
As both possessive forms are used to describe ownership, it can be easy to confuse them. Below are some sentences that contain possessive pronoun mistakes. Can you fix them? (Answers are below.)
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His paintings were very colorful, but I liked hers paintings better.
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Mine eyes are the color blue.
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I like listening to Bruno Mars more than Michael Jackson, but he dance moves are far more iconic.
If you’d like more practice with possessive pronouns and adjectives, take a pronoun quiz to test your skills. You can also play a few pronoun games for a fun review activity!
Answers for Pronoun Quiz Questions
How did you do? Check your answers below.
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His paintings were very colorful, but I liked hers her paintings better.
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Mine My eyes are the color blue.
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I like listening to Bruno Mars more than Michael Jackson, but he his dance moves are far more iconic.