General knowledge about the best possessive pronouns

Placement of Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns can be positioned as the subject, object, or sometimes after a preposition in a sentence.

Possessive Pronoun as Subject

Possessive pronouns can appear at the beginning of a sentence and function as the subject (before the verb).

For example:

1. Look at these books. Mine is the newest one. (Mine = My book as the subject)
2. My flowers are dying. Hers are beautiful. (Hers = Her flowers)
3. All the interviews were good but his was the best. (His = His interview)
4. Our cat is dark grey, but theirs is black. (Theirs = Their cat)

Possessive Pronoun as Object

Possessive pronouns can follow verbs and serve as objects within a sentence.

For example:

1. I love your toys. Do you like mine? (Mine = My toy)
2. David found his passport, but Peter couldn’t find his. (His = His passport)
3. I don’t like my house, but I like yours. (Yours = Your house)

Possessive Pronouns after Prepositions

Possessive pronouns are used following various prepositions.

For example:

1. His ideas don’t align with mine. (His ideas don’t match mine.)
2. Is she a friend of yours? (Is she your friend?)
3. Our problems become insignificant when compared to theirs. (Our problems pale in comparison to theirs.)
4. His views eventually prevailed over theirs. (His views eventually won out over theirs.)

How to Use Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns are utilized in the following ways:

Replacing Nouns Containing Possessive Adjectives

Possessive pronouns can replace noun phrases that include possessive adjectives. As shown in the examples above, possessive pronouns are used instead of possessive adjective + noun phrases.

For example:

• My book is interesting. Your book is boring.= My book is interesting. Yours is boring.

  In this case, the possessive pronoun “yours” replaces “your book.”

Emphasizing Possession

Possessive pronouns are employed when there is a desire to emphasize or draw attention to ownership.

For example:

• This cat is mine. (Emphasizing ownership: This cat belongs to me.)This emphasis becomes more pronounced during actual communication.

Double Possession After “Of”

In some instances, possessive pronouns are observed after the preposition “of,” forming a dual possession. This combination is known as double possession.

For example:

• He is a friend of mine. (Expressing a relationship: He is one of my friends.)
• You might have accidentally taken my keys instead of his. (Indicating possession: You may have mistakenly taken my keys instead of his.)

Possessive Pronouns in Closing of Letters

When writing letters, people conventionally use possessive pronouns. The common possessive pronouns used for letter closings include:

• Yours: Informal and friendly
• Yours sincerely: Formal and polite
• Yours faithfully: Formal and respectful

Distinguishing Between Possessive Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives

Both possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives indicate possession, but their usage differs significantly.

Possessive adjectives always precede a noun and modify that noun. Possessive pronouns cannot be used with any other noun.

For example:

Possessive pronoun: This must be your T-shirt. Mine has stains on it. (This must be your T-shirt. Mine has stains on it.) Possessive adjective: This is my friend

Possessive pronoun exercises

Lesson 1: Choose a suitable possessive pronoun to fill in the blank in the sentence below:

(Mine/ yours/ his/ hers/ its/ ours/ theirs)

1. This jumper belongs to Richard’s. It’s _________.

2. I have made my bed, but my sister hasn’t made _________.

3. Can I borrow your rubber? I can’t find _________.

4. This car belongs to my parents. It’s _________.

5. These shoes belong to you. They are _________.

6. This is Oliver’s notebook. It’s _________.

7. This is the parrot’s food. It’s _________.

8. Kate and Ben own this house. It’s _________.

9. This umbrella doesn’t belong to me. It isn’t _________.

10. You have got a lot of toys. Are all of them _________?

Answer:

1. his

2. hers

3. mine

4. theirs

5. yours

6. his

7. its

8. theirs

9. mine

10. yours

Lesson 2: Choose the correct answer to complete the sentence.

1. Is this cup (your/ yours)?

2. The coffee is (my/ mine).

3. That coat is (my/ mine).

4. He lives in (her/ hers) house.

5. You might want (your/ yours) phone.

6. The new car is (their/ theirs).

7. She cooked (our/ ours) food.

8. Don’t stand on (my/ mine) foot!

9. She gave him (her/ hers) a suitcase.

10. I met (their/ theirs) mother.

11. Is this (their/ theirs) coffee?

12. Is the flat (her/hers)?

13. The gray scarf is (my/ mine).

14. That red bike is (our/ ours).

15. We should take (our/ ours) coat.

Answer:

Here is all the knowledge you need to remember about possessive pronouns. We hope you have understood how to use these pronouns in both written and spoken English, as well as the difference between possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives.