30 Examples of Possessive Pronouns in English

English pronouns

The pronouns They are words that do not have a fixed referent, but are determined in relation to the context of speech or to other things that have been named.

In English, the pronouns can be:

Subject pronouns (subject pronoun): are the personal pronouns that function as a subject within the sentence. They are: I (I), you (you, you, you, you you), he (he), she (she), it (that), we (we), they (they).

Accusative pronouns (object pronouns): they are the porn names that function as the object of the verb. They are: me (me), you (you, you), him (him), her (her), it (that), us (us) them (them)

Reflexives pronouns (reflexive pronouns): used when the subject and object of the verb are the same: myself (myself), yourself (yourself), himself (himself), herself (it), ourselves (ourselves), yourselves (yourselves), themselves

Indefinite pronouns (indefinite pronouns): used to refer to something unspecific. For example somebody (someone), something (something).

Relative Pronouns (relative pronouns): indicate a relationship within the sentence. For example: that (which), who (who), whose (whose)

Demonstrative pronouns: they substitute nouns indicating a spatial relationship with the speaker. They are: this, that, these, those.

Possessive pronouns (possessive pronouns): are those that refer to something, indicating the relationship of possession.

Possessive pronouns

Possessive pronouns are used to replace a possessive adjective and a noun. For example:

• Whose book is this? / Whose book is this?
• It’s my book. / It is my book.

"My" is the possessive adjective and "book" is the noun.

• Whose book is this? / Whose book is this?
• It’s mine. / It's mine.

"Mine" replaces "my book".

The possessive pronouns are:

• Mine: mine / mine / mine / mine
• Yours: yours / yours / yours / yours / yours
• His: his / hers / his / hers (his)
• Hers: hers / hers / hers / hers (hers)
• Its: yours / hers / hers / hers (from an inanimate object or from an animal)
• Ours: Our / our / our / our
• Theirs: yours / yours / yours / yours (theirs)

As can be seen, possessive pronouns do not change according to gender or the number of what is possessed, but they do change according to the gender and number of the person who owns it.

Examples of possessive pronouns in English

1. Is this bicycle yours? / Is this bike yours?
2. Those shoes are mine. / Those shoes are mine.
3. Don’t eat that sandwich, it’s mine. / Don't eat that sandwich, it's mine.
4. If your phone isn’t working, you can use mine. / If your phone doesn't work, you can use mine.
5. Your hair is prettier than hers. / Your hair is prettier than hers.
6. My car broke down so my brother said I could borrow his. / My car broke down so my brother said he could use his.
7. Don’t spend money if it’s not yours. / Don't spend money if it's not yours.
8. Sally said the idea was hers in the first place. / Sally said the idea was hers in the first place.
9. I congratulate you all, this success is yours. / I congratulate you all, this success is yours.
10. They don't know that the car is ours. / They don't know that the car is ours.
11. My house is a mess, maybe we should meet at yours. / My house is messy, maybe we should meet at yours.
12. I thought is screw had fallen from the table but it’s not its. / I thought this screw had fallen off the table, but it's not yours.
13. He comes from a city much bigger than ours. / He comes from a city much bigger than ours.
14. The cat is his. / The cat is yours.
15. I never took something that wasn’t mine. / I never took anything that wasn't mine.
16. Our club doesn’t have a swimming pool, we should go to theirs. / Our club doesn't have a pool, we should go to theirs.
17. None of you should be shy to come back to your parents' home; this house will always be yours. / None of you should hesitate to return to your parents' house; this house will always be yours.
18. He said he took my seat because he thought it was his. / He said he took my seat because he thought it was his.
19. The choice is theirs. / The choice is theirs.
20. Why do you answer that puts when you know it’s mine? / Why do you answer the phone when you know it's mine?
21. He will never admit the fault is his. / He will never admit that it is his fault.
22. She walks into my house like it’s hers. / Enter my house as if it were hers.
23. The victory is / The victory is yours.
24. He says he is tidy but all this mess is his. / He says that he is orderly but all this mess is his.
25. You can try to convince her, but the decision is hers. / You can try to convince her but her decision is hers.
26. I can tell by the pink color that this phone is not his. / I can assume from the pink color that this phone is not his.
27. I can’t believe this beautiful house is theirs. / I can't believe this beautiful house is theirs.
28. Is this your car? / Is this your car? // Yes, it’s ours. / Yes, he is ours.
29. The children told me the dog was theirs. / The children told me that the dog was theirs.
30. Everything in this house is / Everything in this house is yours.

Differences with possessive adjectives

It is important to differentiate the pronouns from the possessive adjectives in English. Possessive adjectives are: my, your, his, her, its de ella, our, their de ella.

Although some (is, its) are the same word, their function is different. Possessive adjectives always appear next to a noun:

• It’s his dog. / It's his dog. (Possessive adjective: his)

In contrast, possessive pronouns never modify a noun.

• It’s his of him. / It's yours. (Possessive pronoun: his)

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