Possessive pronouns nd their two forms and syntactic functions in the sentence Context Introduction

Correct Uses of Possessive Pronouns

Possessive Pronoun is a form of personal pronounOpens in new window that indicates possession or ownership.
The words identified with emphasis in the following sentences indicate possessive pronouns:

1. 
   Gretchen discussed her business plan to the investors.
   
2. 
   I accepted their offer.
   
3. 
   This car is mine.
   
4. 
   Theirs has the best features.
   

If you study closely the sentences above, you will notice that the possessive pronouns in the sentences fall into two forms.
The ones in sentences 1 and 2 are followed by a noun:

• 
  her business plan and their offer.
  

Those in sentences 3 and 4 (mine, and theirs) are not followed by a noun; rather, they stand on their own in the sentence.
This is because possessive pronouns are made up of two forms:

• 
  The first form includes my, our, your, his, their.
  

Any of these words is used if the possessive pronoun immediately precedes the noun it refers to. In other words they are introduced with the nouns they refer to.

• 
  The second form includes mine, ours, his, hers, its, theirs.
  

Each of these words is used when the possessive pronoun stands apart from the noun it modifies.

Important Hint!

Strictly speaking, the form of possessive pronoun which include: my, his, her, our, and their are pronominal adjectivesOpens in new window rather than pronouns. We are dealing with them here, however, because they follow the same agreement rule that governs pronouns.

The following chart illustrates the disparity between these two forms, and also the right form to use:

Note that whose is the possessive form of who or whom.
For Example:

• 
  This is the man whose dog was stolen.
  
• 
  Whose car is this?
  

Unlike other pronouns, possessive pronouns cannot be used in places of nouns. They are used with nouns (for example, my car) to make identification. Hence, grammarians are right to consider them adjectives.

Important

Note that it is incorrect to use any version of the possessive pronoun with an apostrophe (‘s) ending; yours, hers, theirs, etc are the correct forms, and NOT your’s, her's or their’s and so forth.