00 / Nouns
Possessive adjectives
Possessive adjectives show who owns or possesses something. They always appear before a noun to indicate a relationship between a person and an object or another person.
A1Beginner
01 / Overview
Possessive adjectives describe a noun by showing ownership. Unlike possessive pronouns, these words cannot stand alone; they must be followed by a noun. They do not change form for plural nouns; the adjective stays the same whether the object is singular or plural.
02 / The Forms
Possessive Adjective + Noun
- my (I)
- your (you)
- his (he)
- her (she)
- its (it)
- our (we)
- their (they)
03 / Examples
04 / Common mistakes
The dog lost it's ball.
The dog lost its ball.
'Its' is possessive; 'it's' is a contraction of 'it is'.
They are in they're car.
They are in their car.
'Their' shows possession, while 'they're' means 'they are'.
This is my.
This is my book.
Possessive adjectives must be followed by a noun.
05 / Practice
He has a brother. ___ brother is a doctor.
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Answer: His
Why: We use 'his' because the subject is 'he'.
We love ___ school.
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Answer: our
Why: We use 'our' to show possession for the subject 'we'.
The cat is hungry. This is ___ food.
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Answer: its
Why: We use 'its' for animals or objects in the singular form.