English grammar explanations (possessive adjectives and pronouns).

How to use words like "my", "your", "his", "her", "mine", "yours", etc.

The basics - structure:

In English, we use the following adjectives to talk about possession:

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my (first person singular)
your (second person singular and plural)
his (third person singular, boy, man)
her (third person singular, girl, woman)
its (third person singular, thing, animal)
our (first person plural)
their (third person plural, people, things and animals).

Examples of use:

The possessive adjective comes before the thing.

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Possessive adjectives

This is

These are

my
your
his
her
its
our
their

book(s).

cage(s).*

house(s).

* This is its cage. (For example, a canary lives in a cage.)

These are possessive pronouns:

We use these when we do not need to mention the name of the thing we possess or we have mentioned it previously.

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Possessive pronouns.

This

These

The book(s)

are

mine.
yours.
his.
hers.
~~its~~.*
ours.
theirs.

*This form is not possible in English.

These words are like the Saxon genitive but the apostrophe has been omitted, eg. This is your's.

There is only one form of your / yours in English.

The pronouns and adjectives below can refer to one person or more. They do not change.

This is your coffee.
This is yours.

Your(s) may refer to you (singular or plural).

These pronouns and adjectives do not change in singular or plural.

Is that my pen?
Are those my pens?

She is our teacher.
They are our teachers.

Can I see your notebook?
Can I see your notes?

The red motorcycle is his.
These English books are his.

That bicycle is hers.
Those children are hers.

etc.

- Exercises on possessive adjectives and pronouns...