What Are Possessive Adjectives?

They are basically the following words: my, your, his, her, its, our, your, and their. They are used to talk about ownership or possession of something.

Examples:

  • I will give you my bike.
  • Where is your watch?
  • Can I come to their home?
  • That’s her cat.
  • I meet his cousin last night.
  • Our house is large.

Adjectives or Pronouns?

Possessive adjectives are often confused with possessive pronouns.
To avoid this mistake, consider the following table that helps to distinguish them:

Subject PronounsIYouHeSheItWeYouThey
PossessiveAdjectivesMyYourHisHerItsOurYourTheir
PronounsMineYoursHisHersItsOursYoursTheirs
  • Possessive adjectives are the words my, your, his, her, its, our, your and their.
  • Possessive pronouns are the words: mine, yours, his, its, ours, yours, theirs.

More Examples:

  • My father is a policeman.
  • I fixed your broken laptop. 
  • His wife is very annoying. 
  • Is that her new car?
  • I love Christmas with its exciting atmosphere. 
  • Our house is large.
  • I really like your kids because they are very respectful.
  • I was in their town and it is very beautiful.

Types of Pronouns:

Compare the possessive adjectives with the rest of other pronouns using the following table:

Personal pronounsPossessive adjectivesPossessive pronounsReflexive pronounsObject pronouns
IMyMineMyselfMe
YouYourYoursYourselfYou
HeHisHisHimselfHe
SheHerHersHerselfHer
ItItsItsItselfIt
WeOurOursOurselvesUs
YouYourYoursYourselvesYou
TheyTheirTheirsThemselvesThem