Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns are words that show ownership without needing a noun after them. You already know possessive adjectives like "my" and "your" that go before nouns. Now you will learn possessive pronouns like "mine" and "yours" that stand on their own.

What You'll Learn

Use possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs) correctly in sentences
Tell the difference between possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns
Keep pronoun references consistent so your writing is clear
Choose the right possessive pronoun to avoid repeating nouns

When to Use

Replacing a possessive adjective + noun: "This is my bag. That bag is mine." (Mine replaces "my bag" so you do not repeat the noun.)
Answering "Whose?" questions: "Whose pencil case is this?" "It is hers."
Comparing things that belong to different people: "Our project is about recycling. Theirs is about saving water."
Avoiding repetition in sentences: Instead of "Your shoes are blue and my shoes are white," say "Your shoes are blue and mine are white."
Making your writing smoother: "Ali finished his homework. Sarah has not finished hers yet."

How to Form

Possessive Adjectives vs Possessive Pronouns

Possessive adjectives come before a noun. Possessive pronouns replace the noun entirely.

Person	Possessive Adjective	Possessive Pronoun	Example with Adjective	Example with Pronoun
1st (singular)	my	mine	This is my book.	This book is mine.
2nd	your	yours	Is this your pen?	Is this pen yours?
3rd (male)	his	his	That is his bag.	That bag is his.
3rd (female)	her	hers	I like her drawing.	I like hers.
1st (plural)	our	ours	This is our classroom.	This classroom is ours.
3rd (plural)	their	theirs	Those are their seats.	Those seats are theirs.

How to Swap a Possessive Adjective for a Possessive Pronoun

Find the possessive adjective and the noun it describes.
Remove the noun.
Change the possessive adjective to the matching possessive pronoun.

Before (Adjective + Noun)	After (Pronoun)
This is my water bottle.	This water bottle is mine.
Is that your umbrella?	Is that umbrella yours?
Those are their shoes.	Those shoes are theirs.

Key Rules

No apostrophe needed: Possessive pronouns never use an apostrophe. Write "yours", not "your's". Write "theirs", not "their's".
"His" does double duty: "His" is both the possessive adjective and the possessive pronoun. "That is his eraser" (adjective). "That eraser is his" (pronoun).
No noun after a possessive pronoun: If a noun comes right after, you need the possessive adjective instead. "This is mine book" is wrong. Say "This is my book" or "This book is mine."
"Its" has no possessive pronoun form: We do not say "The bone is its." For animals and things, rephrase the sentence: "The bone belongs to the dog."
Keep pronouns consistent: If you start talking about "Ali" using "he", do not suddenly switch to "they". Stay with the same pronoun throughout. "Ali packed his bag. He checked that all the books were his."
Match the pronoun to the owner: Make sure your possessive pronoun matches the person who owns the item. "Mei and I brought our lunch. Ours had chicken rice." (Not "mine" or "theirs" -- the lunch belongs to both of us.)

Common Mistakes

Wrong	Right	Why
This pen is your's.	This pen is yours.	Possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe
That is mine bag.	That is my bag.	"Mine" is a pronoun and cannot go before a noun
The cat licked it's paw. The food is it's.	The cat licked its paw. The food belongs to it.	"It's" means "it is", not possession. "Its" is a possessive adjective -- use it before a noun, not on its own.
Siti said the project was her.	Siti said the project was hers.	"Her" is the object pronoun or possessive adjective; "hers" is the possessive pronoun
Ali did his work. They checked their answers.	Ali did his work. He checked his answers.	The pronoun switched from "Ali/his" to "they/their" -- keep it consistent
Is this book your or mine?	Is this book yours or mine?	Use "yours" (possessive pronoun), not "your" (possessive adjective) when there is no noun after it

Clue Words

Signals that you need a possessive pronoun (not an adjective):

belongs to, is/are + (someone's), Whose is this?, no noun follows

Signals that you need a possessive adjective (not a pronoun):

a noun comes right after: my __, your __, her ____...

Words that help you check consistency:

he...his...his, she...her...hers, they...their...theirs, we...our...ours

Tip: If there is a noun right after, use the adjective form (my, your, her). If the noun has been removed or already mentioned, use the pronoun form (mine, yours, hers).

Practice Tips

The "remove the noun" test: Cover the noun after a possessive word. Does the sentence still make sense? If yes, you can use the possessive pronoun instead. "This is my book" becomes "This book is mine."
The apostrophe check: After writing a possessive pronoun, ask yourself: "Did I add an apostrophe?" If yes, remove it. Possessive pronouns (yours, hers, ours, theirs) never have apostrophes.
The consistency read-through: Read your whole paragraph aloud. Every time you see a name, check that all the pronouns referring to that person match. "Ravi brought his lunch. He ate his food quickly." (Consistent.) "Ravi brought his lunch. They ate their food quickly." (Inconsistent -- who are "they"?)
The swap test: Try replacing the possessive pronoun with the adjective + noun form. If it means the same thing, you have chosen correctly. "The red bag is mine" = "The red bag is my bag." Correct!

Quick Reference

Possessive Adjective (before a noun)	Possessive Pronoun (replaces the noun)	Example
my	mine	The lunch box is mine.
your	yours	Are these books yours?
his	his	The trophy is his.
her	hers	That seat is hers.
our	ours	The garden plot is ours.
their	theirs	Those lockers are theirs.

Rule	Remember
No apostrophe	yours, hers, ours, theirs (never your's, her's)
No noun after pronoun	"mine book" is always wrong
"His" = both forms	adjective: his bag / pronoun: the bag is his
Stay consistent	He...his...his (not he...their...theirs)

Possessive Pronouns (P4) (Primary 4)