What are possessive adjectives in English?

Possessive adjectives show who owns something and come before nouns: my, your, his, her, its, our, their. Example: 'This is my book', 'That is her car'.

What is the difference between 'its' and 'it's'?

'Its' (no apostrophe) is a possessive adjective: 'The dog wagged its tail'. 'It's' (with apostrophe) means 'it is' or 'it has': 'It's raining'.

Do possessive adjectives change with singular or plural nouns?

No, possessive adjectives stay the same: 'my book' and 'my books', 'their house' and 'their houses'. The noun changes, not the possessive adjective.

What is the difference between 'his' and 'her'?

Use 'his' for a man or boy: 'That is his bag.' Use 'her' for a woman or girl: 'That is her bag.' For animals, you can use 'its' if you don't know the gender.

Where do I put possessive adjectives in a sentence?

Always put them directly before the noun they describe. 'My name is Anna.' 'Their house is big.' 'Our teacher is nice.' They cannot be used alone.

How do I use possessive adjectives with family members?

Use them with words like mother, father, brother. 'My mother is a doctor.' 'His father works here.' 'Our parents are from Spain.' Do not use 'the' in these sentences.

What is the possessive adjective for 'you'?

It is 'your' for both one person and many people. 'Is this your pen?' (to one person). 'Is this your classroom?' (to many people). The word 'your' does not change.

Can I say 'a my book' or 'the my book'?

No. Never use 'a', 'an', or 'the' with possessive adjectives. Wrong: 'the my car'. Correct: 'my car'. The possessive adjective already shows who owns it.

CEFR A1

Possessive Adjectives

Learn simple words that show who something belongs to. Practice using my, your, his, her, our, and their to talk about possession and ownership.

What You'll Learn About Possessive Adjectives

Master all seven possessive adjectives - my, your, his, her, its, our, their

Understand ownership relationships - learn to show who something belongs to

Apply the simple matching rule - possessive adjectives match the owner, not the thing owned

Avoid common beginner mistakes - learn the right way to talk about ownership in everyday English

What Are Possessive Adjectives?

Subject pronoun	Possessive adjective	Example
I	my	my book, my teacher
you	your	your house, your friend
he	his	his car, his name
she	her	her bag, her sister
it	its	its colour, its name
we	our	our class, our school
they	their	their children, their house

Possessive adjectives always come BEFORE a noun and never change form: 'his book' and 'his books' — 'his' stays the same regardless of singular or plural.

Possessive adjectives are special words that show who something belongs to. They always come before a noun and tell us about ownership or relationships. Mastering them helps you talk about your things, other people's things, and shared belongings naturally.

What They Show

✓ Personal ownership: my book

✓ Other people's things: your pen

✓ Shared ownership: our house

✓ Relationships: her brother

Why They Matter

✓ Avoid repetition in conversation

✓ Make your English more natural

✓ Show relationships clearly

✓ Describe ownership easily

The Family Photo

This is my brother. His name is Tom. (use "his" for a boy)

This is my sister. Her name is Anna. (use "her" for a girl)

That is our dog. Its name is Rex. (use "its" for an animal)

We are happy in our house. (use "our" for us)

"Possessive adjectives help us talk about family and friends!"

Key Rule to Remember

Possessive adjectives match the owner, not the thing being owned. They never change form based on whether the noun is singular or plural.

✓ my book → my books (not "mys books")

✓ her car → her cars (not "hers cars")

The Seven Essential Possessive Adjectives

These seven small words do a big job in showing ownership and relationships. Each one corresponds to a specific person or group.

My

I → my

my book

my friend

my house

Your

You → your

your pen

your family

your idea

His/Her

He/She → his/her

his car

her bag

his sister

Our/Their

We/They → our/their

our house

their dog

our friends

Quick Practice

Choose the correct possessive adjective:

1. "This is ___ book." (I own it)

2. "That is ___ car." (Maria owns it)

3. "This is ___ house." (We own it)

Check your answers

1. my (I → my)

2. her (Maria → her)

3. our (We → our)

Possessive Adjective Usage Patterns

Learn possessive adjectives in logical patterns to build your understanding faster. Here are the most important usage categories for beginners:

Personal Ownership

I → my

Your

You → your

Example: "My phone is new. Is this your bag?"

Third Person Ownership

His

He → his

Her

She → her

Its

It → its

Example: "This is his car. That is her book. The dog is eating its food."

Group Ownership

Our

We → our

Their

They → their

Example: "Our house is big. Their children are friendly."

Want to try a Possessive Adjectives quiz?

Practice with multiple choice questions

How to Use Possessive Adjectives - Complete Guide

Understanding the simple rules for possessive adjectives helps you use them correctly every time and avoid common mistakes.

The Matching Rule

Possessive adjectives match the owner, not the thing being owned. Follow this simple decision process:

Who is the owner?

↓

Choose matching possessive

↓

Place before noun

"I → my book" • "She → her car" • "We → our house"

Good Examples

This is my brother

That is her bag

This is our school

Common Mistakes

❌ This is mine book (wrong form)

❌ Her is my friend (wrong placement)

❌ This is she book (wrong choice)

Ready to test your Possessive Adjectives knowledge?

Challenge yourself with fill-in-the-blank exercises

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Using possessive pronouns instead of adjectives

❌ Wrong: This is mine book.

✓ Correct: This is my book.

Use 'my' before nouns, 'mine' alone (This book is mine)

Placing possessive adjectives after nouns

❌ Wrong: Book my is on the table.

✓ Correct: My book is on the table.

Possessive adjectives always come before the noun

Using subject pronouns instead of possessive adjectives

❌ Wrong: She bag is beautiful.

✓ Correct: Her bag is beautiful.

Use possessive adjectives (her) not subject pronouns (she) before nouns

Changing form for plural nouns

❌ Wrong: These are mys books.

✓ Correct: These are my books.

Possessive adjectives never change form - my books, not mys books

Confusing his/her

❌ Wrong: Maria loves his brother.

✓ Correct: Maria loves her brother.

Use 'her' for female owners, 'his' for male owners

Master Possessive Adjectives sentence building!

Drag and drop words to form correct sentences

Quick Comparison Chart

Subject	Possessive Adjective	Rule	Example
I	my	Before noun	my book
you	your	Before noun	your pen
he	his	Before noun	his car
she	her	Before noun	her bag
it	its	Before noun	its food
we	our	Before noun	our house
they	their	Before noun	their dog

Tips for Learning Possessive Adjectives

Learn the pairs together - I/my, you/your, he/his, she/her, we/our, they/their

Practice with family and friends - describe their belongings

Remember they never change - my book, my books (same form)

Always place before nouns - my car, not car my

Use real objects to practice - point and say "my phone, your book"

Listen to native speakers - notice how they use possessive adjectives naturally

Speaking Practice

To practice your pronunciation, listen to the native speaker audio first. Then 'Record' yourself repeating what you heard, then use the 'Playback' button to compare your pronunciation with the native speaker. If you want to record yourself again, simply click 'Delete'!

This is my book and that is your pen.

Her brother is very tall and his sister is short.

Our house has a big garden and their car is red.

My favorite color is blue but her favorite is green.

Their dog is friendly and our cat is shy.

Your friend is nice and his mother is very kind.

I like my job, and she likes her job too.

Our school is large, but their school is very small.

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