Possessives
Learn how my, your, his, her, its, our and their come before a noun to show who or what it belongs to.
My, your, his, her, its, our, their
A possessive shows who or what a noun belongs to.
A possessive is a determiner that comes directly before a noun to show ownership or a close connection. It answers the question “whose?”
In the sentence This is my umbrella., the word my is a possessive. It shows that the umbrella belongs to the speaker.
English has seven possessives: my, your, his, her, its, our and their.
Before you begin
Possessives are one category of determiner.
This lesson focuses on possessives specifically. If you would like an overview of how determiners work as a whole topic, begin with the Determiners page.
The central idea
A possessive always needs a noun to follow it.
Compare a noun with no possessive and the same noun made specific by one.
01
No Possessive
The noun alone does not show who it belongs to.
Pass me the phone.
02
With a Possessive
The possessive shows exactly who the phone belongs to.
Pass me her phone.
The useful question is: Whose is it?
my phone ? belongs to the speaker
her phone ? belongs to a specific woman
their phone ? belongs to more than one person
A possessive always answers the question “whose?” about the noun that directly follows it.
The possessive forms
Each personal pronoun has a matching possessive.
Singular possessives
I ? my
you ? your
he ? his
she ? her
it ? its
He forgot his keys again this morning.
Plural possessives
we ? our
they ? their
We invited our neighbours to the party.
Your works for one person or several
Your has the same form whether it refers to one person or more than one.
Where possessives appear
A possessive sits at the very start of the noun phrase.
Directly before the noun
Our flight leaves at six.
Before an adjective and a noun
Our early flight leaves at six.
When an adjective describes the noun, the possessive still comes first, before the adjective.
Possessives do not combine with a, an or the
Not: the my umbrella
Correct: my umbrella
A noun phrase only needs one determiner, so a possessive replaces a, an or the rather than joining them.
Possessives and possessive pronouns
A related set of words can stand alone instead.
Words such as mine, yours and theirs also show ownership, but they replace the whole noun phrase rather than coming before a noun.
Possessive: This is my umbrella. (before the noun umbrella)
Possessive pronoun: This umbrella is mine. (standing alone, in place of a noun phrase)
This distinction is explored fully in the Possessive Pronouns lesson.
Possessives and possessive nouns
A possessive noun names the owner directly.
A possessive noun, such as Maria’s or the dog’s, shows ownership using an apostrophe and a named person or thing. A possessive replaces that named noun with a short word instead.
Maria’s umbrella ? her umbrella
the dog’s bowl ? its bowl
This pattern is explored fully in the Possessive Nouns lesson.
Its and it’s
This possessive never takes an apostrophe.
its ? shows possession, no apostrophe
it’s ? short form of it is or it has
The bird returned to its nest. It’s going to rain later.
This is one of the most common word confusions in English. It is explored further in the Common Confusions page.
A useful decision guide
Ask who or what owns the noun.
01
Is a noun directly following the word?
If so, it is a possessive. If the word stands alone, it is a possessive pronoun instead.
02
Who or what does the noun belong to?
Match the possessive to that person or thing: his, her, their, and so on.
03
Is an adjective also describing the noun?
The possessive still comes first, before the adjective.
04
Could the word be replaced with “is” or “has”?
If so, it is the contraction it’s, not the possessive its.
Common mistakes
Do not combine a possessive with another determiner, or drop the apostrophe rule for it’s.
Adding an article before a possessive.
Not: I lost the my keys.
Correct: I lost my keys.
Only one determiner is needed before a noun.
Confusing its and it’s.
Not: The company announced it’s new plan.
Correct: The company announced its new plan.
This sentence shows possession, so no apostrophe belongs here.
Adding an apostrophe to a possessive.
Not: her’s book
Correct: her book
Possessives are complete words on their own and never take an apostrophe.
Check your understanding
Which possessive fits?
Choose the correct answer for each sentence.
Maria left __________ jacket at the office. (belongs to Maria)
? Exactly! Her matches Maria.
? Not quite. Check who the jacket belongs to.
Maria is a woman’s name.
The Johnsons sold __________ old car last week. (belongs to the Johnsons)
? Exactly! Their matches the plural subject the Johnsons.
? Not quite. The car belongs to a family being spoken about, not to the speaker.
The company announced __________ new plan yesterday. (shows possession)
? Exactly! This sentence shows possession, so no apostrophe is needed.
? Not quite. Try replacing the word with it is and see if it still makes sense.
Is this __________ bag by the door? (asking a friend)
? Exactly! Your comes directly before the noun bag.
? Not quite. A noun follows this word, so it needs the possessive form.
Choose the best explanation
Select the sentence that explains the possessive correctly.
Why is “my keys” correct rather than “the my keys”?
? Exactly! A possessive replaces an article rather than joining it.
? Not quite. Think about how many determiners a single noun phrase needs.
Why does its not take an apostrophe, unlike most possessive nouns?
? Exactly! Possessives never take an apostrophe, unlike possessive nouns.
? Not quite. Think about which category of word its belongs to.
Which sentence uses a possessive, rather than a possessive pronoun?
? Exactly! My comes directly before the noun umbrella.
? Not quite. Look for the sentence where a noun follows the possessive word directly.
Try it another way
Complete the sentence with the correct possessive.
Type the possessive that fits each sentence.
? Exactly! His matches Tom.
? Not quite. Tom is a man’s name.
? Exactly! Our matches the speaker and others together.
? Not quite. Think of a pronoun that includes the speaker and others.
? Exactly! Its shows possession, with no apostrophe.
? Not quite. This word needs to show possession, without an apostrophe.
Edit the sentence
Rewrite each sentence with the correct possessive.
Use the note in brackets to decide which word fits.
I lost the my keys somewhere in the house. (remove the extra determiner)
? Exactly! Only one determiner is needed before keys.
? Not quite. Remove the and keep only the possessive.
The dog wagged it’s tail happily. (correct the possessive)
? Exactly! This shows possession, so no apostrophe is needed.
? Not quite. Remove the apostrophe from the possessive.
I loved bold their new logo. (correct the word order)
? Exactly! The possessive comes first, before the adjective and the noun.
? Not quite. Move the possessive so it comes before the adjective bold.
Quick review
A possessive always answers “whose?”
Possessives — my, your, his, her, its, our, their — come directly before a noun to show who or what it belongs to.
A possessive replaces a, an or the, rather than combining with them.
A possessive always comes first in the noun phrase, before any adjective.
Related words such as mine and theirs stand alone as possessive pronouns, rather than coming before a noun.
A possessive noun, such as Maria’s, names the owner directly using an apostrophe.
Its shows possession and never takes an apostrophe; it’s is a contraction of it is or it has.
Remember
Ask whose it is, and whether a noun follows.
If a noun directly follows the word, and the word shows ownership, it is a possessive. Match it to the correct owner, and keep it free of any apostrophe or extra article.