Pronouns: possessive (my, mine, your, yours, etc.)
We use pronouns to refer to possession and ‘belonging’. There are two types: possessive pronouns and possessive determiners. We use possessive determiners before a noun. We use possessive pronouns in place of a noun:
Is that [determiner]your scarf? It’s very similar to [pronoun]mine. (It’s very similar to my scarf.)
That’s not [determiner]their house. [pronoun]Theirs has got a red front door.
It was [determiner]his fault not [pronoun]hers.
personal pronoun
|
possessive determiner
|
possessive pronoun
|
I
|
my
|
mine
|
you (singular and plural)
|
your
|
yours
|
he
|
his
|
his
|
she
|
her
|
hers
|
it
|
its
|
its*
|
we
|
our
|
ours
|
they
|
their
|
theirs
|
one
|
one’s
|
one’s*
|
*We avoid using its and one’s as possessive pronouns except when we use them with own:
The house seemed asleep yet, as I have said, it had a life of its own.
One doesn’t like to spend too much time on one’s own.
Typical errors
- We don’t use ’s after possessive pronouns:
Are those gloves hers?
Not:Are those gloves her’s?
- ’s is not used with the possessive pronoun its. It’s means ‘it is’:
The team is proud of its ability to perform consistently well.
Not: …proud of it’s ability…
- We don’t use another determiner with a possessive determiner:
I’m going to get my hair cut this afternoon.
Not: …get the my hair cut…
- We don’t use possessive determiners on their own. They are always at the beginning of noun phrases:
That’s not my book. It’s yours. (or It’s your book.)
Not:It’s your.
- We don’t use possessive pronouns before nouns:
Lots of our friends were at the party.
Not:Lots of ours friends…
(“Pronouns: possessive ( my, mine, your, yours, etc.)” from English Grammar Today © Cambridge University Press.)
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