General English A1 · Lesson 3B

Grammar Bank

The rules behind this lesson — form, use, model sentences and the mistakes to avoid.

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Grammar focus of this lesson

Possessive 's and possessive pronouns

2 structures

Possessive 's and whose
's shows ownership; whose asks who the owner is.
I've got this
Rules & form
- ›Singular noun + 's: Ana's car, my boss's office.
- ›Plural noun ending in -s + ': my parents' house.
- ›Ask with whose: Whose bag is this? — It's Tom's.
- ›For things, prefer of: the name of the company.
Examples
- “That's Pedro's brother.”
- “The students' books are on the table.”
- “Whose keys are these?”
Watch out · Whose (owner) is not who's (= who is).
Your own example
Possessive pronouns (mine / yours / his / hers…)
They replace a possessive adjective + noun, so you don't repeat the noun.
I've got this
Rules & form
- ›mine · yours · his · hers · ours · theirs (there is no 'its' pronoun in practice).
- ›They stand alone — never before a noun: It's mine (not It's mine book).
- ›Whose asks about the owner: Whose is this? It's hers.
Examples
- “This coffee is mine and that one is yours.”
- “Our team finished first; theirs finished second.”
- “Is this jacket hers? No, it's his.”
Watch out · No apostrophe: her's ✗ / hers ✓ · your's ✗ / yours ✓.
Your own example