Possessive Pronouns and Determiners in English Grammar

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What is a possessive?

Possessives in English grammar are small words that indicate possession or belonging.

There are two types of possessives in English: possessive determiners (also called possessive adjectives), which come before a noun (my, your, …) and possessive pronouns, which stand in place of a noun (mine, yours …).

Learn the difference between possessive determiners and possessive pronouns in English grammar then practise using them in the interactive exercises.

Example

My name is Sam today is my birthday.

I’m celebrating with my friends Sarah and Steven.

They are twins and their birthday was just a few days before mine.

We’ve just finished decorating and soon our guests will arrive.

Table of English Possessive Pronouns and Determiners

The chart below shows the English possessive pronouns and determiners in singular and plural:

Singular Plural
1st person (I) 2nd person (you) 3rd person (he/she/it) 1st person (we) 2nd person (you) 3rd person (they)
Determiner my your his her its our your their
Pronoun mine yours his hers its ours yours theirs

How to use possessive pronouns and determiners

Use possessive determiners before a noun to indicate possession.

Examples:
My name is Sam and today is my birthday.
Our guests will arrive soon.

Use possessive pronouns to replace a previously mentioned noun.

Examples:
Their birthday was a few days before mine.
mine = my birthday