What Are Possessive Pronouns?
|
|
English includes several types of pronouns, such as personal, demonstrative, interrogative, relative, indefinite, reflexive, and intensive pronouns. In this review, we'll examine what possessive pronouns are.
A possessive pronoun is a pronoun that indicates or identifies ownership. It can be either an adjective or a stand-in for an antecedent, the noun to which it refers.
| Possessive Pronoun: Adjective |
|
Possessive Pronoun: Stand-In Noun |
| my |
her |
|
mine |
hers |
| your |
our |
|
yours |
ours |
| his |
their |
|
his |
theirs |
What Are Possessive Pronouns: Adjectives
A possessive pronoun acting as an adjective precedes the noun it modifies to identify ownership.
Examples
That is my shirt.
Have you seen her new shoes?
Let's make our way back to the cabin before sunset. |
In sentences that include proper names as antecedents, possessive pronouns serving as adjectives allow for more-efficient expression by not requiring us to repeat the name.
Examples
Repetitive: Thomas enjoys Thomas's new guitar.
Efficient with pronoun: Thomas enjoys his new guitar.
Repetitive: The Chinns are moving into the Chinns' new home today.
Efficient: The Chinns are moving into their new home today. |
What Are Possessive Pronouns: Stand-in Nouns
A possessive pronoun acting as a stand-in for another noun (its antecedent) is known as an independent possessive pronoun or an absolute possessive pronoun. It does not precede a noun, and in describing possession of something, it does not have an apostrophe.
Examples
Correct: That Corvette over there is mine. (Mine represents its antecedent, Corvette.)
Incorrect: That is mine Corvette. (The possessive pronoun should not precede the noun it refers to.)
Correct: Next week, that brand-new house will be theirs. (Theirs represents its antecedent, house.)
Incorrect: Next week, that brand-new house will be theirs'. (The possessive pronoun should not take an apostrophe.) |
As shown in the examples, independent (or absolute) possessive pronouns often appear at the end of sentences.
A possessive pronoun standing in for another noun can be plural as well. Once again, it would not precede a noun, and it would not have an apostrophe.
Examples
Their parents live in Texas; ours live in New Hampshire. (Antecedent is parents.)
Your bowling balls are black and theirs are red. (Antecedent is bowling balls.) |
Possessive Pronouns: Its
You will also often see another possessive pronoun acting as an adjective: its. The possessive pronoun its describes ownership by a non-person, such as an object or animal.
Examples
You can't always judge a book by its cover. (Antecedent is book.)
It can take one to two weeks for a snake to shed its skin. (Antecedent is snake.) |
To this day, a common mistake with the possessive pronoun its still pervades: the use of an apostrophe to convey possession, as in its' or it's. If you ever find yourself about to make this grammatical error, simply remember that personal pronouns never take an apostrophe.
Example
Correct: You can't always judge a book by its cover.
Incorrect: You can't always judge a book by its' cover. |
Related Topics
Pronouns
Expressing Possession of Gerunds
Its vs. It's
|
View and comment on this
article on our website.
|
|
Pop Quiz
Now that you know what possessive pronouns are, choose the correct one in each of the following sentences.
1. A peacock loves to show [its / it's] feathers.
2. Which guitar should we bring tonight: [your / yours] or Stephan's?
3. Bob and Linda said they forgot [their / they're] checkbook at home.
4. Someday that Jet Ski will be [mine / mine's].
5. Did you notice how much Clem looked like Elvis when he swiveled [his' / his] hips?
|
 |
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
by Lester Kaufman and Jane Straus |
Revised and Expanded Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation Now Available!
The twelfth edition of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation made its debut on May 4, 2021. It has been seven years since the eleventh edition was published. So when the publisher, Jossey-Bass, requested another go-round, the team at GrammarBook.com was elated.
You will find the new, extensively revised and expanded version in keeping with our consistent vision of a direct, concise, unfussy grammar book.
The Blue Book, which started life as a booklet for California state employees, has now sold hundreds of thousands of copies. Over the years, we’ve seen the number of subscribers to our weekly newsletter grow from dozens to scores to hundreds; now, there are over 40,000 of you worldwide.
The new edition continues to stress the difference between rules on the one hand and conventions, customs, and tendencies on the other. We also added previously uncovered material, such as irregular verbs, that have been popular topics in our newsletters and blogs. In addition, the Confusing Words and Homonyms section has been greatly expanded, and we have developed all-new quizzes covering even more topics.
The new Blue Book takes on English in all its often maddening complexity, acknowledging its quirks, gray areas, exceptions, limitations, and contradictions. We realize that people want straight answers, but with English, there sometimes aren’t any, and we would be remiss in saying otherwise.
Order your copy of the new edition of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation from Amazon now!
|
Free BONUS Quiz for You!
[[firstname]], because you are a subscriber to the newsletter, you get access to one of the Subscribers-Only Quizzes. Click here to take an Affect vs Effect Quiz and get your scores and explanations instantly!
We will be adding many more quizzes this year to our already substantial list of quizzes. If you have suggestions for topics we have not yet covered, please send us a message at help@grammarbook.com.
|
Hundreds of Additional Quizzes
at Your Fingertips
Subscribe now to receive hundreds of additional English usage quizzes not found anywhere else!
Teachers and Employers
Save hours of valuable time! You may assign quizzes to your students and employees and have their scores tallied, organized, and reported to you! Let GrammarBook.com take the hassle out of teaching English!
"Fun to test my skills."
"The explanations really help ... thanks!"
"I can select the quizzes to assign to my students, and then the results are reported to me automatically!"
99¢
QUIZZES
|
Don't need all the quizzes?
You can now purchase the same quizzes individually for ONLY 99¢ each.
Purchase yours here.
|
If you think you have found an error in a quiz, please email us at help@grammarbook.com
|
 |
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
by Jane Straus, Lester Kaufman, and Tom Stern |
The Authority on English Grammar! Eleventh Edition Also Available
An indispensable tool for busy professionals, teachers, students, homeschool families, editors, writers, and proofreaders.
Available in print AND as an e-Book! Over 2,000 copies are purchased every month!
To order the book, simply click the link to order the book from the GrammarBook.com website.
|
Wordplay
Pop Quiz Answers
1. A peacock loves to show its feathers.
2. Which guitar should we bring tonight: yours or Stephan's?
3. Bob and Linda said they forgot their checkbook at home.
4. Someday that Jet Ski will be mine.
5. Did you notice how much Clem looked like Elvis when he swiveled his hips?
|
 |
English In A Snap:
68 One-Minute English Usage Videos FREE |
Learn all about who and whom, affect and effect, subjects and verbs, adjectives and adverbs, commas, semicolons, quotation marks, and much more by just sitting back and enjoying these easy-to-follow lessons. Tell your colleagues (and boss), children, teachers, and friends. Click here to watch.
|
|
