Possessive Adjectives: Examples & Exercises

The best way to know what possessive adjectives are… it’s to test yourself:

Was this too hard? Study the article below and try again.

Possessive Adjectives – Table
Adjective or Pronouns?
Exercises on Possessive Adjectives

We use Possessive adjectives to show ownership or relationships and modify nouns to indicate who possesses them. In general, we place them before the noun they modify and agree with the possessor, not the noun.

Possessive Adjectives – Table

Possessive Adjective	Use	Example
My	Something that belongs to the speaker.	My name is Sarah.
Your	Something that belongs to the person you’re speaking to (singular).	Your car is nice.
His	Something that belongs to a man or a boy.	His book is on the table.
Her	Something that belongs to a woman or a girl.	Her dress is beautiful.
Its	Something that belongs to an animal or thing (not people).	The dog wagged its tail.
Our	Something that belongs to the speaker and others.	Our house is big.
Your	Something that belongs to the people you’re speaking to (plural).	Your children are playing outside.
Their	Something that belongs to other people or things.	Their school is far from here.

They help clarify who owns or is related to the noun in question, making sentences more precise and informative.

Adjective or Pronouns?

ATTENTION, not to be confused with Possessive Pronouns, study the Pronouns page.

We use both to indicate ownership but they are used differently in sentences. Possessive adjectives are used before nouns, while possessive pronouns replace nouns.:

Possessive Adjectives: Modify nouns to show ownership and are always followed by the noun they modify. They provide more information about the noun but do not replace it. Examples include my, your, his, her, its, our, and their. For instance, in “This is her book,” her is modifying book.
Possessive Pronouns: Replace nouns and show ownership without needing to follow a noun. They stand alone and are used to avoid repetition. Examples include mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, and theirs. For example, in “The book is hers,” hers replaces her book and stands alone as the subject.

Let’s put that in practice:

EXERCISE: Possessive Adjective or Possessive Pronoun?

Learn the difference today. Rewrite each sentence using a possessive pronoun (mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs).

Example:
This is my bag. → This bag is mine.

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