Home » Possessive Adjectives vs. Possessive Pronouns

Feb 09

Possessive Adjectives vs. Possessive Pronouns

It’s easy to confuse these two sets of words because they are very similar but perform different functions.

POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE
Possessive adjectives are used to indicate ownership or possession of nouns. They are placed before nouns to show to whom or to what something belongs. In English, the possessive adjectives are: my, your, his, her, its, our, their.

Let’s look at some examples:
My book is on the table. (“My” shows that the book belongs to me.)
Your house is beautiful. (“Your” indicates that the house belongs to you.)
Her cat is sleeping. (“Her” shows that the cat belongs to her.)
Our teacher is very nice. (“Our” indicates that the teacher belongs to our group.)

In these examples, the possessive adjectives (my, your, her, our) are followed by nouns (book, house, cat, teacher) to show possession.

POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS:
Possessive pronouns, on the other hand, are used to replace nouns to show ownership or possession more concisely. They stand alone and do not need to be followed by a noun.

The possessive pronouns in English are: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs.

Let’s see how they are used:

  • The red car is mine. (“Mine” replaces the noun phrase “my car.”)
  • Is this pen yours? (“Yours” replaces the noun phrase “your pen.”)
  • The dog lost its collar. (“Its” replaces the noun phrase “the dog’s collar.”)
  • The decision is ours. (“Ours” replaces the noun phrase “our decision.”)

In these examples, the possessive pronouns (mine, yours, its, ours) stand alone to show possession without needing to be followed by a noun.


KEY DIFFERENCES:
The main difference between possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns is how they are used in a sentence:

Possessive adjectives are used before nouns to show possession.
Possessive pronouns stand-alone and replace nouns to show possession.

Possessive Adjectives vs. Possessive Pronouns

Possessive Adjectives are used before nouns to show possession and Possessive Pronouns stand alone and replace nouns to show possession.

1 / 12

Please give me back ____ book.

2 / 12

Whose bag is this? Is it ____?

3 / 12

This is ____ dog, not ____.

4 / 12

____ cat always hides under the bed.

5 / 12

I can't find ____ keys. Have you seen ____?

6 / 12

Is that ____ jacket or ____?

7 / 12

The blue car is ____.

8 / 12

She said the decision is ____.

9 / 12

Whose shoes are these? Are they ____?

10 / 12

Is this pencil ____?

11 / 12

That house is ____.

12 / 12

The problem is ____ not ____.

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