Possessive Pronouns
A1 · BeginnerPronounsMine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs — six small words that can stand in for a whole phrase. Say "This is mine" instead of "This is my book," and skip the apostrophe every single time.
What you'll learn
- The six standalone possessive pronouns and who each one refers to
- How a possessive pronoun replaces a whole "my/your/etc. + noun" phrase
- Why none of these words ever takes an apostrophe
- Why "its" doesn't have a natural standalone use the way the others do
The core idea
A possessive pronoun stands completely on its own — it takes the place of a whole phrase like "my book" or "her car," not just part of one. Instead of repeating the noun, you swap the entire "my/your/etc. + noun" phrase for a single word: "This is my book" becomes "This is mine."
English also has words like my, your, and her that go directly before a noun (my book, her car) — you'll meet those in more detail elsewhere. This lesson is only about the six words that replace the noun completely and stand by themselves.
The six standalone forms
There is one standalone possessive pronoun for each person: mine (belongs to me), yours (belongs to you), his (belongs to a male person), hers (belongs to a female person), ours (belongs to us), and theirs (belongs to them).
Notice that his looks exactly the same whether it comes before a noun (his car) or stands alone (This car is his) — it's the one word on this list that doesn't change form. The other five — mine, yours, hers, ours, theirs — are used only in the standalone position, never directly in front of a noun.
No apostrophes — ever
None of these six words ever takes an apostrophe. There's no such spelling as her's, your's, their's, or our's — those forms simply don't exist in English.
That can feel surprising, because English does use an apostrophe for possession elsewhere, like in Tom's car or the dog's bed. Possessive pronouns are the exception: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, and theirs are already complete possessive words on their own, so they don't need — and never get — an apostrophe.
What about "its"?
You might expect a standalone form for it too, but English doesn't really have a natural one. "This is its." sounds incomplete — it isn't something a native speaker would actually say.
When you need to talk about something belonging to an object or an animal, English usually keeps its directly in front of the noun instead ("This is its cover") or simply repeats the noun ("This is the box's lid"). English just doesn't split "it" into a separate standalone possessive word the way it does for people.
Real English
Watch out
Hers never takes an apostrophe. There's no such word as her's — hers is already the complete possessive form.
Same rule for theirs: no apostrophe, ever. It's one solid word, just like hers, yours, and ours.
Mine can't go directly in front of a noun — that job belongs to my. Mine only appears on its own, standing in for the whole phrase ("I need mine" = "I need my keys").
"Its" almost never stands alone the way mine or hers can. Keep it in front of a noun, or repeat the noun, instead of leaving it by itself.
Real life — Dividing shared office supplies
"Whose stapler is this — yours or mine?"
"I think it's mine. Yours has a sticker on the side, remember?"
"Good point. Then these highlighters are ours, and that box by the printer is theirs."
"Perfect — everything's sorted."
Practice
Exercise 1 · Choose the correct sentence
Which sentence correctly uses a standalone possessive pronoun?
Exercise 2 · Choose the correct sentence
Which sentence correctly replaces "my keys" with one word?
Exercise 3 · Choose the correct spelling
Which spelling is correct?
Exercise 4 · Choose the correct spelling
Which spelling is correct?
Exercise 5 · Choose the correct pronoun
Maria and Tom share an office. The blue mug belongs to Tom. Whose mug is it?
Exercise 6 · Choose the natural sentence
Which sentence sounds natural in everyday English?
Exercise 7 · Sort into groups
0 / 6 sorted
Exercise 8 · Build the sentence
Exercise 9 · Build the sentence
Exercise 10 · Build the sentence
Exercise 11 · Complete the answer
You're sorting laundry with your roommate. You pick up a gray sweater that belongs to you. Complete the sentence with one word: "This sweater is ___."
Exercise 12 · Complete the answer
A courier asks whose package is on the porch. It belongs to you and your partner together. Complete the sentence with one word: "That package is ___."
Exercise 13 · Fix the mistake
Fix the mistake and type the correct sentence: "This laptop is her's, not mine."
Exercise 14 · Fix the mistake
Fix the mistake and type the correct sentence: "That desk is your's, and this one is mine."
Exercise 15 · Fix the mistake
Fix the mistake and type the correct sentence: "I found mine phone under the couch."
Exercise 16 · Real-life scenario
At the lost-and-found desk, you see a black umbrella and a gray umbrella. The black one belongs to you. Which sentence should you say?
Quick challenge
Five mixed questions to check what stuck.
Question 1 / 5
Score: 0/0
You and your roommate share a couch. A friend asks who it belongs to. Complete with one word: "It's ___."
You learned
- A possessive pronoun stands completely on its own, replacing a whole "my/your/etc. + noun" phrase.
- There are six standalone forms: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs.
- None of these words ever takes an apostrophe — her's, your's, their's, and our's are not real spellings.
- Words like mine, yours, and hers never go directly in front of a noun — that's the job of my, your, and her.
- "Its" doesn't have a natural standalone use — keep it in front of a noun, or repeat the noun instead.
Related grammar lessons
Possessive Adjectives vs Possessive Pronouns
Learn the one rule that separates my, your, his, her, its, our, their from mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs — whether a noun comes right after the possessive word, or nothing does.
Subject vs Object Pronouns
Learn when to use subject pronouns like I, he, and they, and when to switch to object pronouns like me, him, and them — based on where the pronoun sits in the sentence.
Personal Pronouns
Learn the seven subject pronouns — I, you, he, she, it, we, they — including singular "they" and how English uses "it" for weather, time, and situations.
Reflexive Pronouns
Learn the eight English reflexive pronouns — myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves — how to use them for reflexive meaning and emphasis, and the overcorrection mistake to avoid.