Possessive Adjectives & Pronouns
Show ownership with possessive adjectives and pronouns.
Possessive adjectives
Use before a noun to show who it belongs to: my, your, his, her, its, our, their.
- This is my book.
- Is that your car?
- The dog wagged its tail.
Possessive pronouns
Replace a noun and possessive adjective entirely: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs.
- This book is mine.
- Is that car yours?
- The red one is hers.
Common mistake
Don't confuse 'its' (possessive) with 'it's' (it is).
- The cat licked its paw.
- It's raining today.
Possessive 's for nouns
Add 's to a singular noun to show possession. For plural nouns ending in -s, just add an apostrophe.
- Sarah's car is red.
- The dog's bowl is empty.
- The students' books are on the desk.
- James's bag was left behind.
More examples in context
Possessives appear constantly when describing relationships and ownership.
- Is this your umbrella or hers?
- Their house is bigger than ours.
- My parents' anniversary is in June.
- The company increased its budget.
- That's not my problem, it's yours.
- His sister's wedding is next month.
Common mistakes to avoid
These are frequent possessive errors, and how to correct them.
- ✗ This is mine book. → ✓ This is my book. (use 'my' before a noun, not 'mine')
- ✗ That bag is her's. → ✓ That bag is hers. (no apostrophe in 'hers')
- ✗ The dogs bowl is empty. → ✓ The dog's bowl is empty. (missing apostrophe)
- ✗ Is this you're pen? → ✓ Is this your pen? ('you're' means 'you are')
Quick practice
Choose the correct possessive form, then check your answer.
- That laptop is ___ (I), not ___ (you). (answer: mine, yours)
- ___ (they) car broke down yesterday. (answer: Their)
- This is ___ (Chris) desk. (answer: Chris's)
- The cat cleaned ___ (it) fur. (answer: its)
- Is this umbrella ___ (she)? (answer: hers)