Possessive Pronouns

A possessive pronoun is a pronoun which indicates possession.

Possessive pronouns indicate possession. There are seven possessive pronouns in modern English. They are: mine, ours, yours, his, hers, its, & theirs. 

  1. It is a cat. It is mine.
  2. My cat is red. Yours is black.
  3. Tom's hens are small. Yours are big.
  4. Ricky's car is red. Ours is white.

USE OF POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

We use a possessive pronoun instead of a full noun phrase. Possessive pronouns can be subject or object. Study the following sentences.

MINE

Mine is a possessive pronoun. It replaces my + noun. 

  1. Five dogs are playing in the field. Mine is black. (Mine = my dog; subject)
  2. I like your dog. Do you like mine? (mine = my dog; object)

OURS

Ours is a possessive pronoun. It replaces our + noun. 

  1. Several cows are in the field. Ours are not here. (Ours = our cows; subject) 
  2. Have you seen ours? (ours = our cows; object)

YOURS

Yours is a possessive pronoun. It replaces your + noun. 

  1. I have seen many gardens, but yours is the loveliest. (yours = your garden; subject)
  2. I like yours. (yours = your garden; object)

His

  1. My cat is black. His is red.  (His = his cat; subject)
  2. Those are your cats. These are his. (his = his cats; object)

His can be both possessive adjective and possessive pronoun. If his precedes a noun, it is possessive adjective. If it doesn't follow a noun, it is possessive pronoun. 

  • Is this his car? (his pre-modifies the noun car. So, his is a possessive adjective/ possessive determiner.)
  • Yes, this is his. (his = his car; possessive pronoun) 

Hers

Hers is a possessive pronoun. It replaces her + noun. 

  1. Where is her bag? (possessive adjective/ possessive determiner.)
  2. Hers is on the dining table. (hers = her bag; possessive pronoun) 

Theirs

Theirs is a possessive pronoun. It replaces their + noun.

  1. A: Is their horse white? 
  2. B: No, theirs is red.

WHOSE  

Interrogative pronoun whose can also be used as a possessive pronoun (Interrogative possessive pronoun). It replaces whose + noun.

  • I found a purse on the road. Can you say whose is this? (whose = whose purse)

Singular or Plural? 

Note that possessive pronouns can be both singular and plural. When they refer to singular antecedents, they are singular. But when they refer to plural antecedents, they are plural. 

  1. I have four cars and Jim has three. Mine are in the garage. (Mine = my cars; plural)
  2. John has a bike. I also have a bike. Mine is the red one. (Mine = my bike; singular)

Grammar Notes

 1. Possessive Pronouns do not have an apostrophe. 

  • This car is ours/yours/hers/theirs. (NOT our’s/your’s/her’s/their’s)

2. Possessive pronouns replace Possessive Adjective + Noun. So, never write nouns after it. 

  • My car is red. Yours is blue. (NOT Yours cat is blue.) 

3. Possessive pronouns are derived from personal pronouns. They are very similar to possessive adjectives which are also derived from personal pronouns. 

Possessive Pronouns Worksheet

Name: _______________________ 

Date: __________________

Instructions: 

Choose the correct possessive pronoun to complete each sentence. Write the correct possessive pronoun in the blank.

Example:

  • The ball belongs to Tim. The ball is his.

Sentences:

  1. The doll belongs to Emily. The doll is __________________.
  2. The backpack belongs to Alex. The backpack is __________________.
  3. The books belong to us. The books are __________________.
  4. The teddy bear belongs to Mia. The teddy bear is __________________.
  5. The bicycle belongs to Max. The bicycle is __________________.
  6. The crayons belong to the children. The crayons are __________________.
  7. The jacket belongs to Sarah. The jacket is __________________.
  8. The pencils belong to you. The pencils are __________________.
  9. The cat belongs to Tom. The cat is __________________.
  10. The painting belongs to Anna. The painting is __________________.

Possessive Pronouns Worksheet-2

Name: _______________________ 

Date: __________________

Instructions: 

Choose the correct possessive pronoun from the options given in parentheses. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate possessive pronoun.

Example:

  • The red ball is __________________. (my / mine / me)

Sentences:

  1. The blue backpack is __________________. (he / him / his)
  2. The pink shoes are __________________. (her / hers / she)
  3. The teddy bear is __________________. (you / your / yours)
  4. The green hat is __________________. (our / us / ours)
  5. The book belongs to __________________. (they / them / their)
  6. The toy car is __________________. (we / us / ours)
  7. The doll belongs to __________________. (your / you / yours)
  8. The painting is __________________. (I / my / mine)
  9. The crayons are __________________. (her / she / hers)
  10. The bicycle is __________________. (they / them / their)

Answers-1:

  1. hers
  2. his
  3. ours
  4. hers
  5. his
  6. theirs
  7. hers
  8. yours
  9. his
  10. hers

Answers-2:

  1. The blue backpack is his.
  2. The pink shoes are hers.
  3. The teddy bear is yours.
  4. The green hat is ours.
  5. The book belongs to them.
  6. The toy car is ours.
  7. The doll belongs to you.
  8. The painting is mine.
  9. The crayons are hers.
  10. The bicycle is theirs.