Possessive Adjectives
We have touched on this material quite deeply in the Possessive Pronouns section. Why? Because Possessive Adjectives are very closely related to personal pronouns.
As the name suggests, Possessive Adjectives are words placed in front of a noun to show who owns the noun.
List of Possessive Adjectives
English has 7 possessive adjectives corresponding to the 7 main subjects:
| Subject | Possessive Adjective | Meaning | Example Usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | my | belongs to me | my book |
| You | your | belongs to you | your car |
| He | his | belongs to him | his phone |
| She | her | belongs to her | her dress |
| It | its | belongs to it | its tail |
| We | our | belongs to us | our house |
| They | their | belongs to them | their team |
Rules of Usage
There are some important rules you must remember when using Possessive Adjectives:
1. Must be Followed by a Noun
This is the most absolute rule. As an adjective, they must have something to describe/modify. You cannot use these words independently at the end of a sentence.
- Correct: This is my computer. (The word my is followed by computer).
- Incorrect: This computer is my. (Should use a possessive pronoun: This computer is mine).
2. Do Not Use Articles (a, an, the)
You cannot stack Possessive Adjectives with articles (a, an, the) or Demonstrative Adjectives (this, that). Choose only one!
-
Correct: I lost my keys.
-
Incorrect: I lost the my keys.
-
Correct: Is that your car?
-
Incorrect: Is that your this car?
3. Beware of Confusion: Its vs. It’s
This is one of the most common mistakes, even for native English speakers!
- Its (without an apostrophe) is a Possessive Adjective meaning ownership.
- The dog wagged its tail.
- It’s (with an apostrophe) is a contraction for It is or It has.
- It’s a beautiful day. (Contraction of It is).
4. Beware of Confusion: Their vs. They’re vs. There
Another very frequent spelling mistake because the pronunciation is exactly the same:
- Their is a Possessive Adjective (belonging to them).
- Their house is big.
- They’re is a contraction of They are.
- They’re going to the store.
- There is an adverb of place.
- Put the box over there.
Conclusion: Always make sure there is a noun immediately after my, your, his, her, its, our, their to claim ownership of that noun. And pay attention to the spelling of its and their to avoid changing the meaning!