English Grammar Guide for ESL

Possessive Pronouns

On this page: Description, Exercises

Description

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns show ownership. They replace a noun phrase and tell us who something belongs to.

Examples:

  • This suitcase is mine.

  • That car is hers.

  • The decision was theirs.

In these sentences, the possessive pronoun replaces a longer expression:

  • This suitcase is my suitcase. → This suitcase is mine.

  • That car is her car. → That car is hers.

Possessive Pronouns vs. Possessive Determiners

ESL learners often confuse these two forms.

Possessive Determiners

A possessive determiner comes before a noun.

Examples:

  • my book

  • your car

  • their house

Possessive Pronouns

A possessive pronoun stands alone and is not followed by a noun.

Examples:

  • The book is mine.

  • The car is yours.

  • The house is theirs.

Compare:

Possessive Determiner Possessive Pronoun
my book mine
your book yours
his book his
her book hers
its tail its (rarely used)
our book ours
their book theirs

English Possessive Pronouns

Possessor Possessive Pronoun
I mine
you yours
he his
she hers
we ours
they theirs

Examples:

  • The blue backpack is mine.

  • Is this pen yours?

  • The choice was his.

  • That seat is hers.

  • The victory was ours.

  • The responsibility is theirs.

Common ESL Errors

Do Not Use a Determiner Before a Possessive Pronoun

Possessive pronouns already contain the idea of possession.

  • This book is mine. ✅

  • This book is the mine. ❌

  • That car is hers. ✅

  • That car is the hers. ❌

Do Not Put a Noun After a Possessive Pronoun

A possessive pronoun stands alone.

  • This house is ours. ✅

  • This house is ours house. ❌

  • The decision is theirs. ✅

  • The decision is theirs decision. ❌

If a noun follows, use a possessive determiner instead:

  • This is our house. ✅

  • This is ours house. ❌

Possessive Pronoun or Possessive Determiner?

Use a possessive determiner before a noun:

  • my book

  • your car

  • their house

Use a possessive pronoun when no noun follows:

  • The book is mine.

  • The car is yours.

  • The house is theirs.

Compare:

  • This is my book. ✅

  • This book is mine. ✅

  • That is their house. ✅

  • That house is theirs. ✅

Special Forms

Notice that possessive pronouns are different from their corresponding possessive determiners:

Determiner Pronoun
my mine
your yours
her hers
our ours
their theirs

Examples:

  • This is my jacket. → This jacket is mine.

  • That is their car. → That car is theirs.

Common ESL Confusions

your vs. yours

  • your = before a noun

    • your book

  • yours = stands alone

    • The book is yours.

their vs. theirs

  • their = before a noun

    • their house

  • theirs = stands alone

    • The house is theirs.

her vs. hers

  • her = before a noun

    • her coat

  • hers = stands alone

    • The coat is hers.

Quick Rule

Use a possessive determiner before a noun:

  • my car

  • your house

  • their dog

Use a possessive pronoun when no noun follows:

  • The car is mine.

  • The house is yours.

  • The dog is theirs.

Remember:

  • Do not use the before a possessive pronoun.

  • Do not put a noun after a possessive pronoun.

Examples:

  • This book is mine. ✅

  • This book is the mine. ❌

  • That house is ours. ✅

  • That house is ours house. ❌

Exercises

Choose the correct form:

This book is (my, mine, me).
That bicycle is (her, she, hers).
The blue car is (our, us, ours).
Is this (yours, your, you) phone?
The red backpacks are (their, them, theirs).
That is (him, his, he) backpack.
This classroom is (ours, us, our) classroom.
The decision was (them, theirs, their).
The idea was (she, her, hers).
I found my keys, but Tom can't find (he, him, his).
These are (you, your, yours) books.
Our house is bigger than (their, them, theirs).
This is (hers, she, her) coat.
Their teacher is new, but (our, us, ours) has taught here for years.
My answer was correct, but (he, his, him) was not.

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