Possessive pronouns

Rules

• Rule 1: my, your, his… + noun

  my, your, his, her, its, our, their (possessive adjectives) always come before a noun.

  Pattern: my / your / his / her / our / their + noun

  Example: Her hair is long.

  Example: We love our school.

• Rule 2: mine, yours, hers… alone

  mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs (possessive pronouns) stand alone. No noun comes after them. They help us not to repeat the noun.

  Pattern: mine / yours / his / hers / ours / theirs (no noun)

  Example: That umbrella is hers.

  Example: Your team won, but ours lost.

• Rule 3: Whose…?

  We ask Whose to find out who something belongs to. The answer often uses mine, yours, hers… or a name + 's.

  Example: Whose scarf is this? — It's mine.

  Example: Whose shoes are these? — They're Zeynep's.

Common mistakes

• This is mine pencil. → This is my pencil.

  There is a noun after it → my.

• The bike is her. → The bike is hers.

  Alone → hers.

• The red bag is your's. → The red bag is yours.

  yours, hers, ours, theirs have no apostrophe.