Possessive Pronouns in English

Possessive Pronouns in EnglishThe dependent and independent forms of possessive pronouns. The declension, the rules of use and typical examples.

Possessive pronouns in English are: my, his, her, our, its, their, mine, ours, yours, his, hers, theirs.

1. Like personal pronouns the possessive pronouns in English have categories of gender, number and person.

2. Possessive pronouns have two forms: independent (or absolute) form and dependent (or united) form.

The dependent form of possessive pronouns

  First person Second person Third person
Singular my your his, her, its
Plural our their

The dependent form of possessive pronouns is used when the pronoun stands before the noun. In a sentence it usually acts as an attribute.

If you don’t stop taking my toys, I will take your ones.

Their friend is the strongest in our class.

The independent form of possessive pronouns

  First person Second person Third person
Singular mine yours his, hers
Plural ours theirs

The independent form of possessive pronouns is used when the noun is missing. In a sentence it usually acts as a subject, a predicate or an object.

3. Possessive pronouns in English are often used with parts of the body, clothes and garments that belong to a certain person.