Blog about English
Possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns expressing ownership.
English expresses possession with possessive determiners and possessive pronouns.
Possessive determiners come before nouns, while possessive pronouns replace noun phrases.
Possessive determiners modify nouns to show ownership or relationship.
The possessive determiners are my, your, his, her, its, our and their.
Possessive pronouns replace noun phrases that express possession.
The possessive pronouns are mine, yours, his, hers, ours and theirs.
Possessive determiners are followed by nouns, while possessive pronouns stand alone.
Compare my book with The book is mine.
Its is the possessive form of it, while it's is the contraction of it is or it has.
These forms are frequently confused in writing.
Whose is used to ask about or express possession.
It functions both as an interrogative word and as a relative pronoun.
English sometimes combines of with a possessive noun or pronoun.
Examples include a friend of mine and that idea of John's.
Possessive forms are often preferred before gerunds in formal English.
Compare I appreciated your helping me with I appreciated you helping me.
Possessive pronouns often avoid repetition when the possessed noun is already understood.
Examples include Mine is newer than yours and This seat is hers.
Some idiomatic expressions contain possessive forms.
Examples include on my own, at your own risk and in our opinion.
Formal and informal English sometimes differ in possessive constructions.
Some informal structures are common in speech but less frequent in formal writing.
Distinguish possessive determiners from possessive pronouns and avoid confusing similar forms.
Common mistakes include using mine book, confusing its with it's and omitting possessive determiners before nouns.