What Are Possessive Pronouns?
Possessive pronouns show
ownership. The term possessive
pronoun coverspossessive adjectives and absolute possessive pronouns.
The possessive pronouns are:
Possessive Pronouns Replace Nouns
Possessive
pronouns are used to indicate who (or what) owns something. Like all pronouns, possessive pronouns take the place
of nouns in sentences.
Look at these examples:
·
Take Sarah's car to the
party.
·
Take her car to the party.
(In this
example, the possessive adjective her replaces Sarah.)
·
Take hers to the party.
(In this
example, the absolute possessive pronoun hers replaces Sarah's car.)
Examples of Possessive Pronouns
Below are
examples of possessive pronouns. (There is a mix of possessive adjectives and
absolute possessive pronouns.)
·
Take her spoon and put it by your plate.
(These are both possessive adjectives.)
·
His view is that it's come to
the end of its working
life.
(These are both possessive adjectives.)
·
Anyone who goes to a
psychiatrist ought to have his head
examined. (Samuel Goldwyn, 1882-1974)
(This is a possessive adjective.)
·
Humans are the only animals
that have children on purpose with the exception of guppies, who like to eat theirs.
(P J O'Rourke)
(This is an absolute possessive pronoun.)
·
We cherish our friends not for their ability to amuse us, but for ours to amuse them. (Evelyn Waugh,
1903-1966)
(our and their = possessive adjectives / ours = absolute possessive pronoun)
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Possessive Pronouns
Definition
A possessive pronoun is a part of speech that attributes ownership to
someone or something. Like any other pronoun, it substitutes a noun phrase and
can prevent its repetition. For example, in the phrase, "These glasses are mine, not yours", the words "mine" and "yours" are possessive pronouns and stand for "my
glasses" and "your glasses," respectively.
Examples
This is our house. It's ours.
This is my bedroom. It's mine.
This is my brother's bike. It's his.
This is my bedroom. It's mine.
This is my brother's bike. It's his.
Subject Pronouns
|
I
|
you
|
he
|
she
|
it
|
we
|
you
|
they
|
|
Possessive
|
Adjectives
|
my
|
your
|
his
|
her
|
its
|
our
|
your
|
their
|
Pronouns
|
mine
|
yours
|
his
|
hers
|
its
|
ours
|
yours
|
theirs
|
|
The words "mine, yours, his, hers, its , ours, theirs" are possessive pronouns. They show who or
what something belongs to.
Note
1. A possessive pronoun differs from a possessive adjective.
Examples:
·
What color is your brother's jacket?
His jacket is black.
(your and his are possessive adjectives; your and his modify the noun jacket in both examples)
His jacket is black.
(your and his are possessive adjectives; your and his modify the noun jacket in both examples)
·
What color is yours?
Mine is blue.
(yours and mine are possessive pronouns - yours functions as a subject complement in the first example; mine functions as a subject in the second example)
Mine is blue.
(yours and mine are possessive pronouns - yours functions as a subject complement in the first example; mine functions as a subject in the second example)
2. "It's" is not a possessive pronoun or adjective; it is
a contraction of it is or it has.
Example:
·
It's not my book = it is not my book
·
It's got five bedrooms = it has got five bedrooms
Pronoun
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