Possessives: my / 's
Build your vocabulary with practical examples
Possessive adjectives — my, your, his, her, its, our, their — show who something belongs to. They always come before a noun: my book, her dog.
They never change for singular or plural: it's 'my book' and 'my books'. Watch out for its (belonging) vs it's (it is) — they sound the same but mean different things.
Examples
This is my book.
'my' + noun shows possession.
Her dog is very friendly.
'her' comes before the noun 'dog'.
Their children are at school.
'their' stays the same with a plural noun.
my
/maɪ/
This is my book.
your
/jɔːr/
Where is your car?
his
/hɪz/
His name is Tom.
her
/hɜːr/
Her dog is very friendly.
our
/aʊər/
Our house is small but cosy.
their
/ðeər/
Their children are at school.
Choose the possessive adjective: ___ name is Tom.
Possessive for 'we': ___ house is small but cosy.
Possessive pronouns — mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs — replace 'adjective + noun' so you don't repeat the noun: 'This pen is mine' = this pen is my pen.
They stand alone, with no noun after them. Note: there is no such word as 'mines' — the singular is simply 'mine'.
Examples
This pen is mine.
'mine' = my pen, no noun needed after it.
Is this jacket yours?
'yours' stands alone at the end.
These shoes are hers.
'hers' replaces 'her shoes'.
mine
/maɪn/
This pen is mine.
yours
/jɔːrz/
Is this jacket yours?
his
/hɪz/
The blue car is his.
hers
/hɜːrz/
These shoes are hers.
ours
/aʊərz/
The garden is ours.
theirs
/ðeərz/
That table is theirs.
Choose the possessive pronoun: This pen is ___.
Replace 'her shoes': These shoes are ___.
To show that a person or animal owns something, add 's to their name or noun: John's car, the dog's tail.
For plural nouns that already end in -s, add just an apostrophe: the students' books. For irregular plurals like children, add 's: the children's books.
Examples
This is John's car.
Add 's to a name to show ownership.
The dog's tail is wagging.
the dog + 's = the tail belonging to the dog.
The children's books are on the shelf.
Irregular plural → add 's.
John's
/dʒɒnz/
This is John's car.
Mary's
/ˈmeəriz/
Mary's dog is brown.
the dog's
/ðə dɒɡz/
The dog's tail is wagging.
my brother's
/maɪ ˈbrʌðərz/
My brother's birthday is in May.
the children's
/ðə ˈtʃɪldrənz/
The children's books are on the shelf.
Choose the correct possessive: This is ___ car.
Add the possessive 's to 'the dog': The ___ tail is wagging.
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