Possessive pronouns — mine, yours, his, hers…

What are possessive pronouns?

Possessive pronouns show who owns or has something. They replace a noun and a possessive adjective together. For example, instead of saying 'This is my book', you can say 'This book is mine.' Possessive pronouns are: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, and theirs. They never need an apostrophe.

How to use possessive pronouns

Possessive pronouns replace nouns to show ownership or belonging. They must match the person you are talking about. Use the correct pronoun form based on the subject:

Subject Pronoun	Possessive Pronoun	Example
I / me	mine	This book is mine.
you	yours	Is this pen yours?
he / him	his	The blue car is his.
she / her	hers	These keys are hers.
we / us	ours	The house is ours.
they / them	theirs	The laptops are theirs.

Common Positions for Possessive Pronouns

After the verb 'be' (is, are, was, were)

This laptop is mine. / Those chairs were theirs. / The mistake is yours.

At the end of a sentence (after other verbs)

I borrowed her pen, but now it is mine. / You can keep his if he gives you yours.

As the subject at the beginning of a sentence

Mine was delivered yesterday. / Hers are in the kitchen. / Theirs broke last week.

Special note: The pronoun 'its' is rarely used alone because it refers to things or animals, not people. For example: "The dog wagged its tail" uses the possessive adjective 'its', not the possessive pronoun. When you need a possessive pronoun for things, rephrase the sentence: "This phone belongs to the company — it is theirs."

Possessive pronouns vs. possessive adjectives

Do not confuse possessive pronouns with possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their). Possessive adjectives come before a noun: 'my car', 'your phone', 'his dog'. Possessive pronouns replace the noun: 'The car is mine', 'The phone is yours', 'The dog is his.' This is an important difference to remember.

Possessive Pronouns at a Glance

Subject Pronoun	Possessive Adjective	Possessive Pronoun	Example (Adjective)	Example (Pronoun)	Note
I	my	mine	That is my bag.	That bag is mine.	Used for first person singular
you	your	yours	Is this your* coat?*	Is this coat yours?	Singular and plural you share the same forms
he	his	his	I like his* car.*	That car is his.	Adjective and pronoun are identical
she	her	hers	That is her* book.*	That book is hers.	Her is also an object pronoun; context clarifies
it	its	its	The dog wagged its* tail.*	The company made its* decision.*	No apostrophe — it's = it is. Rarely used as a true pronoun
we	our	ours	We love our* home.*	That home is ours.	First person plural
they	their	theirs	I like their* idea.*	That idea is theirs.	Also used as singular gender-neutral (they/their/theirs)

Formula

✔ Positive

Noun/pronoun + is/are + mine/yours/his/hers/ours/theirs

This desk is mine.

✖ Negative

Noun/pronoun + is/are not + mine/yours/his/hers/ours/theirs

That phone is not yours.

? Question

Is/Are + noun/pronoun + mine/yours/his/hers/ours/theirs

Is this bag hers?

Examples

This pen is mine, and that one is yours.

Everyday usage · After verb 'be'

Is this umbrella hers or his?

Asking about ownership · In questions

The house is ours, but the car is theirs.

Plural ownership · Contrasting possessions

These bags are not mine. They are not yours either.

Negative sentences · Showing what you don't own

My friends like their books, but I prefer mine.

Comparison · Expressing preference

Whose jacket is this? It's mine.

Answering possession questions

When to use it

Sharing spaces

Use possessive pronouns when talking about shared rooms, homes, or items. This is natural when living with family or roommates.

The blue towel is mine, and the red one is hers.

Clearing up confusion

Use possessive pronouns to clarify who owns something when items look similar or get mixed up.

Which coat is yours? The brown one is mine.

Classroom or work

Use possessive pronouns when organizing materials or discussing who has completed assignments.

I finished my homework, but theirs is not ready yet.

Signal words

is are was were whose belong to owner

Common Mistakes

Wrong

This is my. This is my pen.

✓

Correct

This is mine.

Use possessive pronouns alone after 'be', not possessive adjectives.

Wrong

The book is mines.

✓

Correct

The book is mine.

Possessive pronouns never add 's'. They stay the same singular or plural.

Wrong

Is this pen your's?

✓

Correct

Is this pen yours?

Possessive pronouns never use apostrophes. Don't write 'your's' or 'her's'.

Wrong

These keys are them.

✓

Correct

These keys are theirs.

Use 'theirs' (possessive pronoun), not 'them' (object pronoun).

KEY TAKEAWAYS

What to Remember

Possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs) show who owns something without using a noun.
Never use an apostrophe with possessive pronouns—'its' not 'it's'.
Possessive pronouns come after the verb 'be' or at the end of a sentence.
Each possessive pronoun matches a specific person: use 'mine' for I, 'yours' for you, 'his' for he.
Possessive pronouns replace both a possessive adjective and a noun together.

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S apostrophe (s') — plural possession

Possessive adjectives — my, your, his, her…