08/31/2023 | News release | Distributed by Public on 08/31/2023 12:17
English learners will encounter a lot of possessive adjectives: These words are used to show ownership or possession. There are some important differences between possessive adjectives and similar words, like possessive pronouns. Here's how possessive adjectives work in English!
What are possessive adjectives in English?
How to use possessive adjectives
Possessive pronouns vs. possessive adjectives
Examples of possessive adjectives in English
Possessive adjectives are used with nouns to show who owns or possesses the noun. Unlike possessive pronouns, possessive adjectives don't replace the noun-instead, the adjective appears before the noun. In English, possessive adjectives change depending on the grammatical person and gender of who possesses or owns the noun.
Here's the full list of possessive adjectives in English:
Person | Subject pronoun | Possessive adjectives |
1st singular | I | my |
2nd singular | you | your |
3rd singular |
he she it |
his her its |
1st plural | we | our |
2nd plural |
you (you all, y'all, ye, yinz, you guys) |
your (you all's, y'all's, yinz's, you guys's) |
3rd plural | they | their |
In English, the details of the noun that is possessed don't matter for choosing which possessive adjective to use. For example, if something belongs to Angela, then you use the possessive adjective her-whether you're talking about one book or a million, whether she has a car or a cat or a house, etc-you'll always use her.
English possessive adjectives go before the noun they describe, and if there are any other adjectives in the phrase, they go before them as well:
Possessive adjectives are used instead of the article the, so you can use either a possessive adjective or the, but not both. That's unlike how we use them in Portuguese-but in English you can't say the my book, only my book is correct.
There are important differences between possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives-which can be difficult to remember, since the forms of these words look so similar!
Possessive pronouns replace the noun that is possessed, while possessive adjectives come before the noun:
Subject pronoun | Possessive pronoun | Possessive adjective |
I | mine | my |
you | yours | your |
he | his | his |
she | hers | her |
it | its | its |
we | ours | our |
you (you all, y'all, ye, yinz, you guys) |
yours (you all's, y'all's, yinz's, you guys's) |
your (you all's, y'all's, yinz's, you guys's) |
they | theirs | their |
Possessive adjectives are important for English learners to recognize and use. There are just a couple of important rules to remember: Possessive adjectives match the person who possesses the noun, and they go before the noun, in place of the.
Subject pronoun | Possessive adjective | Example |
I | my | I always pack my red shirt. |
you | your | Where is your suitcase? |
he | his | The agent needs his passport. |
she | her | Her seat is next to the window. |
it | its | Its wings are enormous! |
we | our | We checked our luggage. |
you all | your | Did you all bring your favorite snacks? |
they | their | Their taxi will be waiting outside. |