VocabStorage
Sign up free
Sign in Sign up free

Grammar Guide

Rules, patterns and examples grouped by level — from A1 basics to advanced structures.

A1 Beginner English Grammar

Possessive Adjectives

What is it?

Possessive adjectives show who owns something or who something is connected to.

They come before a noun.

The English possessive adjectives are:

Subject pronoun Possessive adjective Example
I my my book
you your your phone
he his his car
she her her bag
it its its name
we our our house
they their their children

Examples:

  • This is my coat.
  • Her brother lives in London.
  • Their car is outside.

When to use

Use possessive adjectives to talk about:

  • ownership: This is my laptop.
  • family relationships: Her mother is a teacher.
  • body parts: He hurt his arm.
  • personal belongings: Where are your keys?
  • places connected to someone: Our office is nearby.
  • animals or things: The dog is eating its food.

Use a possessive adjective before the noun it describes.

  • my friend
  • your address
  • his job
  • her name
  • our room
  • their house

Structure

The basic structure is:

possessive adjective + noun

Possessive adjective Noun Example
my name My name is Anna.
your bag Your bag is here.
his brother His brother is tall.
her phone Her phone is new.
its colour Its colour is blue.
our teacher Our teacher is friendly.
their house Their house is large.

Possessive adjectives do not change for singular or plural nouns.

  • my book
  • my books
  • their child
  • their children

Choose the possessive adjective according to the owner, not the thing owned.

  • Anna has a car. Her car is red.
  • Mark has a car. His car is red.
  • Anna and Mark have a car. Their car is red.

Do not use an article before a possessive adjective.

  • Correct: my friend
  • Incorrect: the my friend

Examples

  1. My name is Daniel.
  2. Where is your passport?
  3. His sister works at a hospital.
  4. Her children are at school.
  5. The cat is washing its face.
  6. Our apartment is very small.
  7. Their parents live in Canada.
  8. I cannot find my keys.
  9. She is talking to her manager.
  10. We invited our friends to dinner.

Exceptions

Its is a possessive adjective.

  • The company changed its name.

It’s is the short form of it is or it has.

  • It’s cold today.
  • It’s been a long day.

Do not use an apostrophe in the possessive adjective its.

Possessive adjectives are different from possessive pronouns.

  • This is my book.
  • This book is mine.

A possessive adjective must be followed by a noun. A possessive pronoun replaces the noun.

Common mistakes

  1. Incorrect: She is my sister. His name is Anna. Correct: She is my sister. Her name is Anna. Explanation: Use her for a female owner.

  2. Incorrect: He has a car. Her car is new. Correct: He has a car. His car is new. Explanation: Use his for a male owner.

  3. Incorrect: This is mine book. Correct: This is my book. Explanation: Use the possessive adjective my before a noun.

  4. Incorrect: The dog is eating it’s food. Correct: The dog is eating its food. Explanation: Its shows possession. It’s means it is or it has.

  5. Incorrect: This is the my phone. Correct: This is my phone. Explanation: Do not use an article before a possessive adjective.

  6. Incorrect: We live here. Their house is small. Correct: We live here. Our house is small. Explanation: Use our when the owners are we.

  7. Incorrect: They are washing their car, and she is cleaning their window. Correct: They are washing their car, and she is cleaning her window. Explanation: Choose the possessive adjective according to the owner.

  8. Incorrect: My books is on the table. Correct: My books are on the table. Explanation: The possessive adjective does not change, but the verb must agree with the plural noun.