The forms
| Person | Possessive adjective + noun | IPA | Possessive pronoun alone (no noun) | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg | my book | /maɪ/ | mine | /maɪn/ |
| 2nd sg | your book | /jɔːr/ ↔ /jɔː/ | yours | /jɔːrz/ ↔ /jɔːz/ |
| 3rd sg (m) | his book | /hɪz/ | his | /hɪz/ |
| 3rd sg (f) | her book | /hɜːr/ ↔ /hɜː/ | hers | /hɜːrz/ ↔ /hɜːz/ |
| 3rd sg (thing) | its colour | /ɪts/ | — (rarely used) | — |
| 1st pl | our book | /aʊr/ ↔ /aʊə/ | ours | /aʊrz/ ↔ /aʊəz/ |
| 2nd pl | your book | /jɔːr/ ↔ /jɔː/ | yours | /jɔːrz/ ↔ /jɔːz/ |
| 3rd pl | their book | /ðɛr/ ↔ /ðeə/ | theirs | /ðɛrz/ ↔ /ðeəz/ |
Pronunciation (IPA): American ↔ British. When both sound the same, only one is shown.
The difference
| Type | Rule | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Possessive adjective | Always before a noun. Describes who owns the noun. | This is my car. Is that your bag? She loves her dog. |
| Possessive pronoun | Stands alone — replaces adjective + noun together. | This car is mine. That bag is yours. The dog is hers. |
its vs. it's:
its (no apostrophe) = possessive: "The cat licked its paw." · it's (with apostrophe) = it is / it has: "It's raining." Both sound exactly the same, /ɪts/, so only the spelling tells them apart. This is one of the most common errors in English!
Exercises
Adjective or pronoun? Choose the correct form.
1. This is ___ house. (= our house)
2. That coat is ___. (= it belongs to her)
3. The dog wagged ___ tail.
4. Can I use ___ phone? (= your phone)