Possessives: sentences, exercises, tests and examples

Possessives: my vs mine use

Possessives help us say who something belongs to. This topic compares two similar groups: possessive determiners before a noun and possessive pronouns, which replace the whole noun phrase.

This is my phone.
This phone is mine.
Is it your bag? Is it yours?
Her book is old. Hers is old.

Possessives: my vs mine Form

A possessive determiner always comes before a noun: my car, their house. A possessive pronoun stands alone and replaces determiner + noun: mine = my car, theirs = their house.

Personal pronoun Before a noun Without a noun Example
I my mine It is my car. / It is mine.
you your yours Is this your charger? / Is it yours?
he his his It is his phone. / It is his.
she her hers It is her book. / It is hers.
it its — The dog has its bowl. / The dog has its own bowl.
we our ours It is our camera. / It is ours.
they their theirs It is their house. / It is theirs.

my phone → mine
your bag → yours
her book → hers
their house → theirs

The main difference

Form Position Example
my / your / his / her / its / our / their before a noun This is my phone.
mine / yours / his / hers / ours / theirs alone, without a noun This phone is mine.

Possessives: my vs mine Rule

  • Use possessive determiners before a noun to show who something belongs to.

    possessive determiner + noun

    This is my phone.
    He is in his room.
    Children brushed their teeth and went to bed.
  • Do not use a / an / the before a possessive determiner. The possessive determiner already identifies the noun.
    ✅ Is this your hat?
    ❌ Is this the your hat?
  • Use possessive pronouns when the noun is already clear and you do not need to repeat it.

    possessive determiner + noun → possessive pronoun

    My charger is black. Mine is black.
    Her book is old. Hers is old.
    I cannot find their house. I cannot find theirs.
  • His has the same form: his phone and the phone is his. But her and hers are different: her phone, but the phone is hers.
    Is this his jacket? Yes, it is his.
    Is this her jacket? Yes, it is hers.
  • Use its for one thing, organization, place, or animal when you are not emphasizing the animal's sex. Use their for several people or things.
    Holland is famous for its tulips.
    I have two dogs. Their names are Phil and Bard.
  • Its and it's are different. Its means possession for a thing or animal. It's = it is or it has.
    ✅ The company has its own gym.
    ✅ It's a good company. (= it is)
  • Possessive pronouns do not use apostrophes: yours, ours, theirs. Forms like your's, our's, and their's are mistakes.
    ✅ This bag is yours.
    ❌ This bag is your's.
  • After a possessive determiner, the noun can be singular, plural, or uncountable.
    My phone is new.
    My shoes are wet.
    My coffee is cold.

Possessives: my vs mine Questions

To ask about possession, use Whose...?. In the answer, you can use a noun phrase with a possessive determiner or a shorter possessive pronoun.

Whose + noun + is it?
Whose + noun + are they?
Is it + possessive pronoun?
Are they + possessive pronoun?

A: Whose phone is it?
B: It is my phone. / It is mine.
A: Is this your charger?
B: No, mine is black.
A: Is the book hers?
B: Yes, it is Bella's.
A: Whose bags are these?
B: They are ours.
A: Are these their keys?
B: Yes, they are theirs.

Possessives: my vs mine Common mistakes

Common mistakes happen when a possessive determiner is used without a noun, a possessive pronoun is used before a noun, or pairs like her / hers, your / yours, and their / theirs are confused.

❌ It is she's book.
✅ It is her book.
❌ Whose flower is it? Is it your?
✅ Whose flower is it? Is it yours?
❌ No, I used my.
✅ No, I used mine.
❌ This is mine phone.
✅ This is my phone.
❌ This phone is my.
✅ This phone is mine.
❌ I have two dogs. Its names are Phil and Bard.
✅ I have two dogs. Their names are Phil and Bard.
❌ The company has it's own gym.
✅ The company has its own gym.
❌ This camera is their's.
✅ This camera is theirs.
❌ Is this the your hat?
✅ Is this your hat?
❌ I cannot find their.
✅ I cannot find their house. / I cannot find theirs.

Possessives: my vs mine Sentences

Is your brother at school?
He is in his room.
Dad gave him his phone.
Where is my phone?
My charger is black, but yours is white.
Is the book hers?
No, his is really old.
The dog has its own bowl.
Children brushed their teeth and went to bed.
Our camera is new, but theirs is better.
This notebook is not mine. It is hers.
Whose keys are these? Are they yours?

Possessives: my vs mine Examples

My laptop is on the table, but yours is in the bedroom.
Sarah forgot her umbrella, so I gave her mine.
We cannot use their car today because they need it.
This is not our suitcase. Ours is much smaller.
Mark says the blue jacket is his.
Anna is looking for her bag, but this one is not hers.
The restaurant is famous for its seafood.
They sold their old house and bought a new one.
If you cannot find your pen, you can use mine.
Whose project is better, ours or theirs?

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Tenses

Future Simple Present Simple Present Perfect Present Continuous Past Simple Past Perfect Past Continuous Past Perfect Continuous Present Perfect Continuous Future Continuous Future Perfect Future Perfect Continuous Be going to

Adjectives/Adverbs

Superlatives Comparatives Adverbs Adverbs of Frequency

Conditionals

Second Conditional First Conditional Third Conditional Zero Conditional

Pronouns

Something, Anything, Nothing, etc. Quantifiers Demonstrative Pronouns Possessive 's Possessives Pronouns

Sentences

Relative Clauses Conjunctions Reported Speech There is / There are There was / There were

Verbs

Used to To be used to To get used to

Modals

Should or Shouldn't May or Might and Infinitive Modal Verbs Can / Can't Speculation and Deduction

Nouns and Articles

Countable and Uncountable Singular and Plural Nouns Uncountable and Plural