Pronouns and determiners · Beginner (A1)
Possessives: my, your, ’s, mine
Show who something belongs to with possessive adjectives (my, his), the possessive ’s and possessive pronouns (mine, hers).
The rules
Possessive adjectives go before a noun: my, your, his, her, its, our, their — her car, their house. They don’t change for plural nouns: my books (not mys books).
Possessive ’s for people and animals: Tom’s bike, my mother’s name. Plural nouns ending in -s take only an apostrophe: my parents’ house. Irregular plurals take ’s: children’s toys.
Possessive pronouns replace the noun: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs — Is this bag yours? — No, it’s hers.
Don’t confuse its (possessive) and it’s (= it is): The dog wants its food. It’s hungry.
| Subject | Adjective | Pronoun |
|---|---|---|
| I | my | mine |
| you | your | yours |
| he | his | his |
| she | her | hers |
| it | its | — |
| we | our | ours |
| they | their | theirs |
Examples
- This is my brother and his wife.
- Sara’s phone is new.
- That’s not my coat — mine is black.
- The company changed its logo.
Common mistakes
✗ She loves his husband.
✓ She loves her husband.
The possessive matches the owner (she → her).
✗ The dog wagged it’s tail.
✓ The dog wagged its tail.
its = possessive; it’s = it is.
✗ The car of my father is red.
✓ My father’s car is red.
Use ’s for people.
Practice
Anna and ___ husband live in Oslo.
Quiz
1.That isn’t my phone. ___ is in my bag.
2.We love ___ new flat.
3.Complete the sentence.
4.“Its” without an apostrophe is the possessive.