1.4 POSSESSIVES ADJECTIVES

What Are Possessive Adjectives?

A possessive adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun to show who (or what) owns something. For example:



Here is a list of the possessive adjectives:

• my
• your
• his
• her
• its
• our
• their
• whose

Examples of Possessive Adjectives

Here are some examples of possessive adjectives in sentences:

Subjective Pronoun	Possessive Adjective	Example
I	my	I like my new car.
you	your	You can leave your hat on.
he	his	He accidentally cut his finger.
she	her	She plays to her strengths.
it	its	It will show its teeth.
we	our	We have our reasons.
they	their	They washed their hands.
who	whose	Whose writing is this?

Examples of Possessive Adjectives

Here are some more examples of possessive adjectives in sentences:

• My head goes woozy when you climb your ladder.
• Take his spoon and put it by your plate.
• She got her looks from her father. He's a plastic surgeon. (Groucho Marx)
• It only wants its ball back.

Possessive Adjectives and Possessive Pronouns

Here is a list of personal pronouns with their corresponding possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns (i.e., their possessive forms):

Personal Pronoun	Possessive Form
	Possessive Adjective	Possessive Pronoun
I	my	mine
you	your	yours
he	his	his
she	her	hers
it	its	[not used]
we	our	ours
they	their	theirs
who	whose	whose

ACTIVITY ONE: Replace the personal pronouns by possessive adjectives.

1. Where are (you)  friends now?
2. Here is a postcard from (I)  friend Peggy.
3. She lives in Australia now with (she)  family.
4. (She)  husband works in Newcastle.
5. (He)  company builds ships.
6. (They)  children go to school in Newcastle.
7. (I)  husband and I want to go to Australia, too.
8. We want to see Peggy and (she)  family next winter.
9. (We)  winter!
10. Because it is (they)  summer.