Possessive adjectives
To show who something belongs to, we put a possessive adjective before the noun.
One step at a timeRules
Rule 1: Every pronoun has a partner
I → my, you → your, we → our, they → their. A noun always comes after it.
Pattern: my / your / our / their + noun
Example: I love my grandma.
Example: Is this your hat?
Rule 2: his or her?
Look at the owner, not the thing. The owner is a boy or man → his. The owner is a girl or woman → her.
Pattern: boy/man → his · girl/woman → her
Example: Kerem is washing his bike.
Example: Zehra is feeding her fish.
Rule 3: its for animals and things
If the owner is an animal or a thing, use its. Careful: its (belonging to it) is not it's (= it is). No apostrophe for owning!
Pattern: it → its · it's = it is
Example: The rabbit is eating its carrot.
Example: It's a lovely day.
Rule 4: Not the subject pronoun!
Before a noun, use the possessive, not the subject pronoun: her cat (not “she cat”), our class (not “we class”).
Pattern: ~~she~~ cat → her cat · ~~we~~ class → our class
Example: Our class is on the first floor.
Example: Their puppy is very cute.
Common mistakes
Ayşe loves his cat.→ Ayşe loves her cat.The owner is a girl → her.
The dog is wagging it's tail.→ The dog is wagging its tail.No apostrophe for owning: its.
They love they teacher.→ They love their teacher.Before a noun → their.
Position 11 of 19 topics at Pre-A1.