Possessive pronouns
Possessive pronouns are used when you want to indicate who owns or is associated with an item.- All those books are hers.
- Those suitcases are ours.
- Are you selling those books? I’d never sell any of mine.
- Those awful cousins of yours are here.
- This TV is really cheap. – Yes, ours was a bit more expensive, but better quality.
There are separate forms for the singular and the plural except in the 2nd person. In the 3rd person singular the form changes to match the gender of the possessor.- I’m looking for Helen’s trainers. Perhaps these are hers.
- These are our seats and the ones in front are yours.
| possessive determiner | possessive pronoun |
my
your (singular)
his
her
its
our
your (plural)
their | mine
yours
his
hers
(no form)
ours
yours
theirs |
Note that none of these words should be spelled with an apostrophe. Avoid the common mistake of writing it’s for the possessive form. It’s is a short form for it is.