English possessive pronouns

What are possessive pronouns?

Possessive pronouns are personal pronouns that indicate an ownership or a possession of the noun that is discussed in the sentence. As they fully replace the noun (object) in a sentence it is vital that the reader or listener is aware of the context. They can mostly be found at the end of a sentence. 

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Sandra A.

Tommaso S.

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Olebogeng N.

Eleni L.

Nina G.

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Possessive pronouns list

Possessive pronouns list: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, yours, theirs

Difference between possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns 

Possessive adjectives are used to show a possession or a relationship between the owner and the thing that is owned. 

Although they are similarly written to possessive pronouns as we will explore in the table below they are not interchangeable. They are directly placed before the noun whereas possessive pronouns act as a replacement for it. 

Possessive adjectives list: my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their

Possessive adjectives are often used prior to a sentence with a possessive pronoun as it introduces the context and provides an easier flow of information.

Possessive adjectives and pronouns examples:

• I love my new phone. It is mine.
• Her rope looks stable. What about yours?
• I already bought up my dress. It's time you buy yours. 

Possessive apostrophes

Apostrophes in English are utilized to show possession of something. In order to form the possession one needs to add an apostrophe followed by an s (Lorena's) after ownership noun. When the possessive noun ends with the letter s only an apostrophe is added (parents').

While both apostrophes and possessive pronouns are used to showcase a possession they differ in the following ways: 

• With personal pronouns, it is considered that the context is known to both the speaker and the listener
• Apostrophes are used to showcase exactly to whom the possession belongs even if the context is unknown 

Possessive apostrophes examples:

• These are Elena's glasses.
• Morgan's chocolate was very delicious. 
• Carlos' car was stolen in Dublin.
• Joneses' protein powder is a rather good one.