Possessive Pronouns and Determiners

Showing ownership: my/mine, your/yours, his, her/hers, its, our/ours, their/theirs

beginner

When to Use

•Possessive determiners before nouns: my book, your car, their house.
•Possessive pronouns replace noun: This is mine. That's yours.
•Determiners: my, your, his, her, its, our, their.
•Pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, (its), ours, theirs.
•His is the same for both; its rarely used as pronoun.

How to Form

Affirmative (+)

Determiner + noun OR Pronoun alone

Negative (-)

This isn't my book. This isn't mine.

Question (?)

Is this your bag? Is this yours?

💡 Determiners need a noun after them; pronouns stand alone.

Examples

✓This is my pen. This pen is mine.

✗This is mine pen.

Mine is a pronoun (no noun after); my is a determiner (needs noun).

✓Is this book yours?

✗Is this book your?

Pronoun yours replaces 'your book'.

✓Their car is red. Theirs is red.

✗Theirs car is red.

Theirs is a pronoun; their is a determiner.

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

• Determiner + noun: my book, your car, their house.
• Pronoun alone: mine, yours, theirs (no noun after).
• No apostrophe: hers, its, yours, theirs.
• His works as both: his book (det.) / This is his (pron.).

reflexive-pronouns apostrophe-rules relative-pronouns 📝 pronouns-beginner 📝 possessive-pronouns-quiz

Possessive Pronouns and Determiners

Showing ownership: my/mine, your/yours, his, her/hers, its, our/ours, their/theirs

beginner

When to Use

•Possessive determiners before nouns: my book, your car, their house.
•Possessive pronouns replace noun: This is mine. That's yours.
•Determiners: my, your, his, her, its, our, their.
•Pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, (its), ours, theirs.
•His is the same for both; its rarely used as pronoun.

How to Form

Affirmative (+)

Determiner + noun OR Pronoun alone

Negative (-)

This isn't my book. This isn't mine.

Question (?)

Is this your bag? Is this yours?

💡 Determiners need a noun after them; pronouns stand alone.

Examples

✓This is my pen. This pen is mine.

✗This is mine pen.

Mine is a pronoun (no noun after); my is a determiner (needs noun).

✓Is this book yours?

✗Is this book your?

Pronoun yours replaces 'your book'.

✓Their car is red. Theirs is red.

✗Theirs car is red.

Theirs is a pronoun; their is a determiner.

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

• Determiner + noun: my book, your car, their house.
• Pronoun alone: mine, yours, theirs (no noun after).
• No apostrophe: hers, its, yours, theirs.
• His works as both: his book (det.) / This is his (pron.).

reflexive-pronouns apostrophe-rules relative-pronouns 📝 pronouns-beginner 📝 possessive-pronouns-quiz

Possessive Pronouns and Determiners

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

Related

Possessive Pronouns and Determiners

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

Related

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

✗This is her's.

✗The dog wagged it's tail.

✗Is this yours book?

💡 Practice Tips

Related

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

✗This is her's.

✗The dog wagged it's tail.

✗Is this yours book?

💡 Practice Tips

Related