Mine, Yours, and Theirs:
How Possessive Pronouns Work
Identifying Possessive Pronouns:
A possessive pronoun is a pronoun that shows ownership or possession.
They are used to replace possessive nouns to avoid repetition.
Possessive pronouns indicate who or what owns something.
Examples of Possessive Pronouns:
my (followed by a noun) or mine (stands alone)
your (followed by a noun) or yours (stands alone)
his
her (followed by a noun) or hers (stands alone)
its
our (followed by a noun) or ours (stands alone)
their (followed by a noun)or theirs(stands alone)
Using Possessive Pronouns:
Use a possessive pronoun before a noun to indicate ownership or possession.
Use a possessive pronoun after a linking verb to indicate ownership or possession.Possessive pronouns can also be used alone to show ownership or possession.
Examples of Using Possessive Pronouns:
That book is mine. (replacing the possessive noun ‘my book‘)
The dog wagged its tail. (replacing the possessive noun ‘the dog’s tail‘)
The bike is hers. (using a possessive pronoun alone)
The toys are ours. (using a possessive pronoun after a linking verb)
This pencil is yours. (using a possessive pronoun alone)
Differentiating Possessive Pronouns and Contractions:
Possessive pronouns show ownership or possession, while contractions combine two words to make them shorter.
Possessive pronouns stand alone as a word in a sentence, while contractions are made up of two words with an apostrophe in between.
For example, “That is mine” uses a possessive pronoun, while “That’s my book” uses a contraction. The first sentence shows ownership, while the second sentence is just a shorter way of saying “That is my book.”
