A1 Beginner Pronouns and possession
Possessive pronouns
Lesson goal. After this lesson you can use mine, yours, hers, ours, theirs — the words that stand alone, with no noun after them.
When to use it
- Avoiding a repeated noun: This is my book. → This book is mine.
- Answering Whose…?: Whose bag is this? — It's mine.
- Comparing two people's things: My car is red, but hers is blue.
Form
| Possessive adjective + noun | Possessive pronoun, alone |
|---|---|
| my book | mine |
| your book | yours |
| his book | his |
| her book | hers |
| our book | ours |
| their book | theirs |
Step by step
- Check whether a noun follows.
- A noun follows → use the possessive adjective: my, your, her, our, their.
- No noun → use the possessive pronoun: mine, yours, hers, ours, theirs.
- his is the same in both forms.
The same idea, two ways
| Sentence | Form | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| This is my bag. | possessive adjective | followed by the noun bag |
| This bag is mine. | possessive pronoun | no noun after it |
| Is this your pen? | possessive adjective | with the noun pen |
| Is this pen yours? | possessive pronoun | no noun |
Examples
This book is mine.
Is this pen yours?
The red bag is hers.
That house is theirs.
These seats are ours.
Whose phone is this? — It's his.
My car is red, but hers is blue.
Our class is big, but theirs is small.
Common mistakes
This book is my. → This book is mine.
With no noun after it, my cannot stand alone — it must become mine.
This is mine book. → This is my book.
With the noun book after it, use my. mine never takes a noun.
The bag is her. → The bag is hers.
her is the adjective (her bag). Standing alone it must be hers.
Memory tip
Just look right after the word: noun still there → my, nothing there → mine. Simple, but it is exactly what separates the two groups.
Summary
- A noun follows → my, your, his, her, our, their.
- No noun → mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs.
- his is identical in both forms.
Practise this lesson
Do exercises with an explanation for every question, take mini tests and track your progress on GrammUp.