Practice
Possessive adjectives: rules and examples
You are labeling bags before a trip. Do you write my bag, her bag, or their bag? The owner and the noun tell you which possessive adjective to use.
Choose a possessive adjective by checking who owns something and the noun that follows it.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
my, your, his, her, its, our, and their /maɪ, jʊr, hɪz, hɜr, ɪts, aʊr, ənd ðer/
The short answer
Use my, your, his, her, its, our, or their before a noun to show possession. Choose the word from the owner, then check that a noun follows it.
Our neighbor watered our plants while we were away.
Why it works: Our comes before neighbor and plants. In each case, it shows a connection to the speaker and other people.
5 more examples
-
My cousin forgot my address.
My comes before cousin and address to show that both are connected with the speaker.
Not this:That address is
mine. What changes: Mine is a possessive pronoun because it stands alone without a noun after it. -
Your reservation is under your name.
Your identifies something connected with the listener and comes before a noun.
Not this:The reservation is
yours. What changes: Yours replaces your reservation, so no noun follows it. -
Omar brought his lunch from home.
His comes before lunch and refers to Omar.
Not this:The lunch is
his. What changes: His can also stand alone as a possessive pronoun when the noun is already known. -
The phone lost its signal in the elevator.
Its comes before signal and refers to the phone.
Not this:
It'sdifficult to call from the elevator. What changes: It's means it is here. It does not show possession. -
Their team changed their meeting time.
Their comes before team and meeting time to show a connection with the group.
Not this:The meeting time is
theirs. What changes: Theirs is a possessive pronoun because it replaces their meeting time.
Read the full guide
First, find the thing that belongs to someone or is connected with them. Then identify the owner. Use the possessive adjective that matches that owner and place it before the noun.
Put a possessive adjective before a noun
Possessive adjectives answer the question whose. They come directly before a noun, such as my keys, your desk, or their apartment. The noun can name a person, thing, place, or idea.
Her passport is in the top drawer.
Her comes before passport and tells us whose passport it is.
Which word fits before jacket when the jacket belongs to you: your or yours?
Use your jacket. Your is followed by the noun jacket.
Match the word to the owner
Choose the possessive adjective from the owner. Use my for the speaker and your for the listener. Use his or her for one person. Use our for the speaker with other people, and their for people, animals, or things outside that group.
We added our names to the list.
Our refers to we, so the list belongs to the speaker and other people.
Which word describes a plan that belongs to Mia: her or our?
Use her plan because Mia is one person who is not the speaker.
Use its without an apostrophe
Use its before a noun when something belongs to an animal or thing. Its has no apostrophe. The form it's is a contraction for it is or it has, so it cannot show possession.
The museum changed its opening hours.
Its shows that the opening hours belong to the museum.
Which form means it is: its or it's?
Use it's for it is. Use its only before a noun when you mean belonging to it.
Do not change the word for plural nouns
A possessive adjective stays the same before one noun or many nouns. Say his friend and his friends, or their idea and their ideas. The noun changes for singular or plural meaning, not the possessive adjective.
Their children bring their lunches to school.
Their works before the plural nouns children and lunches.
Which word fits before both plan and plans when the plans belong to us: our or ours?
Use our plan and our plans. Our comes before the noun in both phrases.
Know when to use a possessive pronoun
A possessive adjective needs a noun after it. A possessive pronoun replaces that noun. Compare This is my seat with This seat is mine. Do not write This is my when the noun is missing.
Our table is near the window, but theirs is outside.
Our comes before table. Theirs replaces their table, so it stands alone.
Which word can stand alone after The tickets are: their or theirs?
Use theirs because it replaces their tickets without repeating the noun.
Before you go
Remember this
Use a possessive adjective before a noun. Match it to the owner: my for the speaker, your for the listener, his or her for one person, its for a thing or animal, our for the speaker's group, and their for another group. Check the noun after the word and watch the spelling of its.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Possessive adjectives: rules and examples"
What are possessive adjectives?
Possessive adjectives are words that come before a noun and show who owns something or is connected with it. English uses my, your, his, her, its, our, and their. In her notebook, her tells us whose notebook it is. The word changes with the owner, not with the number of notebooks.
My cousin forgot my address.
What is the difference between my and mine?
My is a possessive adjective, so a noun follows it: my notebook or my notes. Mine is a possessive pronoun, so it can stand alone: The notebook is mine. Choose my when you name the thing after it. Choose mine when the thing is already clear from the sentence or conversation.
That address is mine.
When do I use its and it's?
Use its before a noun when you mean belonging to it, as in its color or its name. Use it's only as a short form of it is or it has. A useful check is to expand it's. If it is or it has does not fit, you may need its instead.
Your reservation is under your name.
Do possessive adjectives change before plural nouns?
No. A possessive adjective stays the same before singular and plural nouns. Say her friend and her friends, or their decision and their decisions. The noun shows whether you mean one or more than one. The possessive adjective still tells you who the friend, decision, or other noun belongs to.
The reservation is yours.
Can their refer to one person?
Yes. Their can refer to one person when singular they is appropriate, including when a person's gender is unknown or when that person uses they and them. It still comes before a noun, such as their name or their answer. The same form can also refer to more than one person.
Omar brought his lunch from home.