The forms
| Person | Possessive adjective + noun | Possessive pronoun alone (no noun) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sg | my book | mine |
| 2nd sg | your book | yours |
| 3rd sg (m) | his book | his |
| 3rd sg (f) | her book | hers |
| 3rd sg (thing) | its colour | — (rarely used) |
| 1st pl | our book | ours |
| 2nd pl | your book | yours |
| 3rd pl | their book | theirs |
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." 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)