We use pronouns to replace nouns in a sentence. Look at the word “pronoun” itself, it contains the main function of this part of speech: “ instead of having", that is " instead of a noun". Pronouns are used to diversify speech and not repeat the same word from sentence to sentence.

There are several types of pronouns in English: , and possessive. We paid special attention to each type of pronouns in a separate article.

Let's see how a native speaker teacher Alex talks about words that show that someone owns something.

When we want to say that someone owns something, we use possessive forms. As you can see Alex identified two forms: Possessive adjectives And Possessive Pronouns.

Possessive adjectives

Let's start considering possessive forms with possessive adjectives. Abroad these words are called Possessive adjectives. Such words show a sign of an object, phenomenon or person, therefore they are classified as adjectives, not pronouns:

• my book. - My book. (what book? - mine)
• His friend. - His friend. (what friend? - his)

In Russian textbooks on English grammar it is written that my (your, his etc.) is a pronoun, but native English teachers insist that it is still an adjective, because it comes before a noun and defines it. Let's take a look at the table:

Personal pronoun	Possessive adjective	Translation
I	My	My
You	Your	Is yours
He	His	His
She	Her	Her
It	Its	His her
We	Our	Our
You	Your	Your
they	Their	Their

My cat likes to play with a ball. - My the cat loves to play with the ball.

She wants to talk to your manager. - She wants to talk to yours manager.

The teacher found his mistakes. The teacher found his errors.

I like her dress. - I like her dress.

Our family likes to rest in Crimea, we adore its nature. – Our family loves to relax in the Crimea, we adore his nature.

They look after our children. - They look after our children.

He is speaking with their mother. - He talks to their mom.

Please note that in all examples after my (his, their) is a noun.

In Russian there is a universal word "our", which we simply change by numbers and persons. In English, the words “one’s own”, “one’s own”, “one’s own” should be translated as “mine”, “ours”, “his” / “hers”, respectively.

She cut mine finger. – She cut her finger.

I love my mom. – I love my mother.

Do my work. – Do your work.

Possessive pronouns

If you need to replace a noun in a sentence, you must use one of the possessive pronouns. Usually the noun is replaced so that there are no repetitions in the sentence.

• This is not my pen, mine is purple. - This is not my pen, my purple (replaced my pen on mine).

Personal pronoun	Possessive pronoun	Translation
I	Mine	My
You	Yours	Is yours
He	His	His
She	Hers	Her
It	Its	His her
We	Ours	Our
You	Yours	Your
they	Theirs	Their

Becky! That is mine! - This my, Becky!

My task is easier than yours. - My task is easier than your.

This is not his car, his is blue. - It's not his car. his- blue.

This is a friend of hers. - This her Friend.

It is not their house theirs is bigger. - This is not their house. their more.

The general pattern for all possessive pronouns is that you do not need to use a noun after them, and, as a rule, it is at the end of the sentence. Also, take a look at this couple: a friend of mine And my friend. Both phrases mean the same thing - my friend, only after the preposition of use possessive pronouns rather than adjectives ( a friend of my).

Personal and possessive pronouns are one of the basic topics of the English language. Therefore, it is very important to understand them and learn how to use them correctly. This article will be especially useful for those who are just starting to learn the language.

Do not be afraid of complex and incomprehensible terms. Now you will see how, in fact, everything is simple and easy.

Pronouns in English

Let's first understand what a pronoun is and why it is needed.

Pronoun- a word that indicates objects (I, you, he, she) and signs (mine, yours, hers).

With the help of pronouns, we replace words in a sentence to avoid repetition. Let's look at this with an example:

Tom is studying at the university. He(we are replacing the name Tom so as not to repeat) will finish his(replace the word university) in a year.

This is how we replaced the words "Tom" and "university" with the help of pronouns so as not to repeat them in the next sentence.

There are several groups of pronouns in English. Today we will look at 2 of them: personal pronouns and possessive ones.

Personal pronouns in English

Personal pronouns are those words with which we replace the main character.

For example:

Mary and Sara bought tickets.
Mary and Sarah bought tickets.

they will go to the concert.
They will go to the concert.

As you can see from the example, we have replaced "Mary and Sarah" with "they".

Such pronouns can replace both one character (he, I, she, she, you), and several (you, we, they).

Personal pronoun	Translation	Note
I	I	It is always capitalized, regardless of whether it is at the beginning of a sentence or not.
You	you you	Can be translated "you" or "you" depending on the situation of use
We	We
they	They	Denotes both living beings and inanimate objects in the plural
He	He	Used to refer to people. Can sometimes be used to refer to animals (for example, when an animal is considered a member of the family)
She	she
It	it	Used to refer to inanimate objects, animals, abstract concepts

Examples:

I am reading a book.
I am reading a book.

You should watch this film.
You should watch this movie.

they love each other.
They love each other.

She like sweets.
She loves sweets.

He fixed his car.
He fixed his car.

Possessive pronouns in English

The name "possessive pronouns" (p ossessive pronouns) comes from the French word possessif (relating to possession). Such pronouns reflect the belonging of objects and the relationship between them.

They are of 2 types:

1. Used together with the subject

Such pronouns answer the question "whose?" and are placed in front of the object, indicating its belonging.

For example: This my computer.

Personal pronouns	Possessive	Translation
I	my	my
You	your	yours / yours
We	our	our
they	their	their
He	his	his
She	her	her
It	its	his/ee

Examples:

he answered my question.
He answered my question.

I need your help.
I need your help.

They reached their goal.
They have reached their goal.

She attracted our attention.
She got our attention.

Let's follow his advice.
Let's follow his advice.

Finding her office was easy.
Finding her office was easy.

The dog wagged its tail.
The dog wagged her tail.

2. Used alone, without an object

Such pronouns are used to avoid repetition in a sentence. After them, you do not need to put an object, since they already imply it.

For example: This is my computer. Is yours on the table.

Personal pronouns	Possessive	Translation
I	mine	my
You	yours	yours / yours
We	ours	our
they	theirs	their
He	his	his
She	hers	her
It	its	his/ee

Examples:

Can I borrow a pen? I lost mine.
Can I borrow a pen? I lost mine.

My box is smaller than yours.
My box is smaller than yours.

It's not their suitcase. Theirs is purple.
This is not their suitcase. Their purple.

Their price is below ours.
Their prices are lower than ours.

He bought a new car and sold his.
He bought a new car and sold his (his).

She took his keys and gave hers.
She took his keys and gave her (her keys).

Note that these two kinds of pronouns translate the same, but are used differently in the sentence. After the first type, an object necessarily comes, after the second, not. And now let's practice their use in practice.

Reinforcement task

Translate the following sentences into English:

1. This is not her car. Her red.
2. My dog ​​loves to play with a ball.
3. Their task is easier than ours.
4. Don't touch my computer, take it.
5. I like her dress.
6. My pen is blue, hers is green.
7. What do cats like? Mine loves to sleep.
8. My car is faster than yours.

Leave your answers in the comments below the article.

It would seem that there is nothing simpler than pronouns: "I, you, he, she - together the whole country", "To you - yours, and to me - mine." But how do you say it in English? In today's article, we will look at the basic rules for using personal and possessive pronouns in English.

Personal pronouns in English

In English, the personal pronoun is used instead of a noun that we already know or have already mentioned. This avoids repetition in speech.

This is Jim. Jim is a policeman. Jim lives in New York. - This Jim. Jim police officer. Jim lives in New York.

Agree, too much Jim for three sentences. This is easy to fix if we combine the two sentences into one and replace the name Jim with the pronoun he (he).

This is Jim. He is a policeman and lives in New York. - This Jim. He police officer and lives in New York.

A personal pronoun can be:

1. Subjective (subject pronoun)

   This pronoun is used in a sentence instead of the subject and denotes the one who performs the action. Subject pronouns come before the verb and answer the questions “who?” So what?".

2. Objective (object pronoun)

   The pronoun is used in the sentence instead of the object, that is, the action is directed to it. Object pronouns come after the verb and answer the questions “who? / what?”, “to whom? / what?”, “who? / what?”, “by whom? / what?”, “about whom? / about what?".

Personal pronouns instead of subject

The table below shows personal pronouns that are used in English instead of the subject.

Now let's look at some of the features of these pronouns:

• Pronoun I

  I is always capitalized.

  I am a dreamer. - I dreamer.
  Mom says I can do it. - Mom says that I I can do it.

  If I in a sentence is next to another personal pronoun, then I is put in second place.

  She and I are best friends. - We With her best friends.
  He and I played tennis together. - We With him played tennis.

• Pronouns he, she and it

  The pronouns he and she are used for people. And to refer to inanimate objects, phenomena and animals, the pronoun it is used.

  You know Jane. She is kind and modest. - You know Jane. She kind and humble.
  Did you see the new building yesterday? It is big. - Did you see the new building yesterday? It big.

  And if you treat your pet like a family member, you can use he or she instead of it.

  Your dog doesn't like me. It barks at me.
  - My dog ​​never barks at people. He's a good boy.
  Your dog doesn't love me. He barks at me.
  My dog ​​never barks at people. He good boy.

  The pronoun it is also used in impersonal sentences (in which there is no actor) to describe the weather, time, distance, etc.

  It's a quarter to nine. - It's fifteen minutes to nine.
  It's foggy outside. - It's foggy outside.
  It's three kilometers between the villages. - The distance between the villages is three kilometers.

• Pronoun you

  You translates to "you", "you", or "you" depending on the context, but agrees with the plural verb.

  You look good in this dress. - You you look good in this dress.
  You all are beautiful. - You all are beautiful.
  Mrs. Walmer, I think you will be a good nurse. - Mrs. Walmer, I think You be a good nurse.

Personal pronouns instead of object

In the table we give personal pronouns that are used instead of the object and are in the sentence after the verb.

Personal pronouns
Singular	Plural
me (me, me, me, about me)	us (us, us, us, about us)
you (you, you, you, about you)	you (you, you, you, about you)
him, her, it (his/her, him/her, him/her, about him/her)	them (them, them, them, about them)

Let's look at examples:

He will help me tomorrow. - He will help to me Tomorrow.
He told us the story. - He said us this story.

We also use these pronouns after the prepositions about (about), on (on), in (in), with (from), for (for) and others.

stay with us. - stay with us.
I am doing this for her. - I'm doing it for her.

You can fix the topic and take the tests in our articles “Personal pronouns of the English language" and "".

Possessive adjectives and pronouns in English

There are two possessive forms in English:

1. Possessive adjectives
2. Possessive pronouns

Both forms denote the belonging of something to someone and answer the question “whose? / Whose? / Whose? / Whose?”

Although this article focuses on pronouns, we will also look at adjectives so that you do not confuse them.

Personal pronouns	Possessive adjectives	Possessive pronouns
I	my (my)	mine (mine)
he	his (his)	his (his)
she	her (her)	hers (her)
it	its (his/her)	its (his/her)
we	our (our)	ours (our)
you	your (your / yours)	yours (your / yours)
they	their (them)	theirs (theirs)

So what is the difference between a possessive adjective and a pronoun? A possessive adjective in English always comes before a noun and characterizes it.

This is my cup. - This my cup.
His phone is on the table. - His phone lies on the table.
your music is annoying. - Your music annoys.

The possessive pronoun does not characterize the noun, but replaces the construction "possessive adjective + noun". Most often, such pronouns are at the end of a sentence.

Are those shoes mine? - those shoes my?
It's their dog, and that is ours. - This is their dog, and this is - our.
My dress is prettier than yours. - My dress is prettier your.
Her cake was better than theirs. - Her cake was tastier than their.

We can also use a possessive pronoun after a noun with the preposition of.

This is Ross. He is a friend of me my mine. - This is Ross. He my Friend.

Also, possessive adjectives and pronouns have other features that should be remembered:

• In English, there is no pronoun corresponding to the Russian "own". Therefore, we translate it according to the context using possessive adjectives or pronouns.

  I'll take my(possessive adjective) bag and you take yours(possessive pronoun). - I will take my (mine) bag, and you take my (yours).

• The possessive adjective and possessive pronoun its are written without an apostrophe. If you meet it "s, then this is an abbreviated grammatical form: it's \u003d it + is.

  The cat played with its(possessive adjective) toy. - The cat played with his toy.

• Formally, its exists as a possessive pronoun, but its use is avoided. It is used only with the pronoun own - its own (own, own).

  Each district of the city has the charm of its own(possessive pronoun). - Each district of the city has your own Charm.

We have also collected for you the personal and possessive pronouns of the English language in one scheme for clarity. You can use it as a cheat sheet.

We invite you to watch a funny video from the animated series Looney Tunes. In this episode, you will see how desperately the drake Daffy Duck tries to get the hunter Elmer Fudd to shoot Bugs Bunny the rabbit. But Duffy has one problem - he gets confused in pronouns.

Try to take a short test on the use of personal and possessive pronouns in English.

Test on the topic "Personal and possessive pronouns in English"

We hope that our article helped you understand the features of the correct use of personal and possessive pronouns in English. If you want to work out the rules you have learned using examples that you understand, go to one of the.

his game is his game, my daughter is my daughter, her mother is her mother, your decision is your decision, our home is our home. There are seven possessive adjectives in English. Consider them in a table with examples.

my	My cat always eats mice if it sees them but it never eats doves or other birds - My cat always eats mice if it sees them, but never touches pigeons and other birds
his	I know that is his blame, don't try to whiten him, it's all for nothing - I know that it's his fault, don't try to put him in a good light. It's all useless
her	Her decision was quick and rather smart for her age and education - The decision she made was sudden and very reasonable for a girl of her age and education
your	Is it your idea of ​​making him the “king” of the evening? How can you be so foolish! Was it your idea to make him the "king" of the evening? How could you be so short sighted!
our	Our company was small but we tried to do all the best to produce good product - Our company was small, but we tried to do everything to produce a quality product
their	Their plan was not easy but it was the only one - Their plan was not easy, but it remained the only one.
its	My cat likes dogs, and one of its friends is a bid black dog barking like thunder - My cat loves dogs, and one of her friends is a big black dog barking like thunder

Possessive adjectives come before nouns, rather than replacing them. This is the difference between them and possessive pronouns.

Do not confuse Its and It's

Be careful, because even native speakers sometimes confuse these two words. Its is used to express belonging to an animal or other thing and emphasizes the lack of gender identity. For example:

The dog opened its mouth and barked several times - The dog opened its mouth and barked several times

It's is a common abbreviation for it is or it has. For example:

It's not my decision, you know - As you know, this is not my decision

It’s already been done, as I said you - The thing has already been done, as I told you

Even though Its and It's are similar in form, their meaning is completely different. One of the words is an adjective and the other is a combination of an adverb and a noun. Therefore, when replacing one with another in a sentence, not only the grammatical structure is violated, but the whole meaning of the phrase is lost. In the flow of speech, Its and It's differ quite simply in context and in the very meaning of the phrase. Difficulties arise, as a rule, for beginners to learn English. In this case, the vocabulary is still small, and phonetic hearing is not developed. In addition, the percentage of errors is higher among inattentive people who simply forget to put an apostrophe on the letter. Let's look at a few more examples to reinforce:

I looked at the table. Its legs looked as if someone scratched them - I looked at the table. His feet looked like they were being scratched.

The flower was nice and its scent filled the room in a few seconds - The flower was very beautiful, and after a couple of minutes its scent filled the room

It’s my life and you cant decide what I have to do, you are mot my mother - This is my life, you can’t decide what I should do, you are not my mother

It's a nice gift and I am sure they appreciated it - It was a nice gift, and I'm sure they appreciated it.

Gerund and possessive adjectives

Possessive adjectives can be used with gerunds. This construction is natural for the English language, although in Russian it will look unnatural. For example:

My dancing is one of the best in the world, how can I loose?! — My dancing technique is one of the best in the world, how could I lose?

His reading became louder and louder and the audience was silent - He read, and his voice became louder and louder, and the people in the hall were silent.

I liked her knitting but it was not perfect of course - I liked her knitting, although it, of course, was not perfect

Your crying is nonsense at the moment, you would better started to do something to solve the problem - Your roar is just stupid now, you better start doing something for that. To solve the problem

Our eating there was excellent - Our dinner at this place was excellent

Their sleeping was too peaceful to disturb them - They slept too peacefully for us to dare to wake them up

Its barking helped me to realize that the guest was not a stranger - His barking helped me understand that the guest was not a stranger.

As can be seen from the examples, possessive adjectives are placed in a sentence before nouns or before a gerund, since it combines a noun. Each of the seven adjectives can be used with a gerund, as long as the meaning of the whole phrase is not violated.

Everyone knows and successfully uses the word my. When the word mine appears, things get more complicated. Unfortunately, not everyone understands the difference between my And mine. So that you understand and always clearly know which word to use, we have prepared an accessible and detailed explanation for you.

Let's start with examples. About your car, you can say: "This is my car" or "This car is mine." At first glance, there is no difference, the meaning is the same. But not in English! Because in each of these sentences the word "my" translated differently. In the first sentence you use a possessive adjective and in the second sentence you use a possessive pronoun!

Possessive adjectives(Possessive Adjectives) and possessive pronouns(Possessive Pronouns) are used to indicate ownership and answer a question Whose?(Whose?)

Personal pronouns Personal Pronouns		Possessive adjectives Possessive adjectives		Possessive pronouns Possessive Pronouns
I		my		mine
You		your		yours
He		his		his
She		her		hers
It		its		-
We		our		ours
You		your		yours
they		their		theirs

Possessive Adjectives

The main function of any adjective (including the possessive one) is to describe the noun. The place of the adjective is before the noun. Therefore, possessive adjectives come before nouns and describe them:

This is my car. - This my car.

This is your file.- This yours folder.

This is his desk. - This his table.

This is her chair. - This her chair.

This is our flat. - This our apartment.

This is their camera. - This their camera.

If another descriptive adjective belongs to the noun, then the possessive comes before it in the sentence:

Kate is my best friend. - Kate - my best friend.

He is reading his new book. - He reads my new book.

If there is a possessive adjective before the noun, then the article is never put:

She took a bag and left. She took her bag and left.

The children are playing with a new ball. - The children are playing with their new ball.

How do you say "your" in English?

If you carefully consider the examples above, you will notice that the word "mine" has different translations. As such, the word "own" in the English language is not. It translates as one of the possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) depending on the subject of the sentence:

I will finish my report on Friday. - I will finish mine report on Friday.

You should tidy your room every day. - You should clean up. my room every day.

He visits his relatives in summer. - He visits their relatives in the summer.

She is proud of her son. - she's proud their son.

The dog is eating from its bowl. - The dog eats out his bowls.

We spent our holiday in the mountains. - We spent mine vacation in the mountains.

They let their children stay up late. - They allow their children stay up late.

Possessive adjectives are always used with nouns that denote belonging to someone. garments And members of the same family, and body parts, personal items:

She was wearing her best dress yesterday. (NOT the best dress) - Yesterday she was in her best dress.

The boy washed his face and brushed his teeth. (NOT the face, the teeth) - The boy washed and brushed (his) teeth.

He loves his parents very much. (NOT the parents) - He loves his parents very much.

She keeps her books in the bookcase. (NOT the books) - She keeps her books in a bookcase.

Word "mine" not always translated into Russian, but in English the use of possessive adjectives Necessarily.

Next two rules Suitable for intermediate level learners and above. In some cases, with nouns denoting body parts, it is possible to use the definite article the rather than the possessive adjective:

1. When the noun refers not to the subject, that is, the performer of the action (subject), and the addition - to the one on whom the action is directed (object).

The woman patted the child on the head. The woman stroked the child's head.

Noun head refers to the object (the child), not the subject (the woman) so you should use the definite article the, not a possessive adjective.

2. When it comes to pain, injury or shock. In such sentences, the prepositions (in, on) combined with the following verbs:
hit- hit, hit
punch- hit with a fist
slap- clap, spank
bite- bite
pat- clap
sting- sting

An old man has a pain in the back. The old man's back hurts.

A bee stung me in the arm. - The bee stung me on the arm.

Possessive adjective its.

The adjective its, which is used with inanimate objects (inanimate objects), can be replaced by of it:

This house is very expensive. I can't tell you its price.
or
I can't tell you the price of it.- This house is expensive. I can't tell you its price.

Note that its and it's are not the same.

Its is a possessive adjective referring to an inanimate object or animal.

I have got a cat. Its tail is long. - I have a cat. Its tail is long.

It's is an abbreviated form of either it is, or from it has:

I have got a cat. It's a white cat. (It's = it is) - I have a cat. This is a white cat.

I've got a cat. It's got a long tail. (It's got = it has got) - I have a cat. The cat has a long tail.

Possessive Pronouns

Pronouns are used without a noun because the function of pronouns is to replace a noun. We use them to avoid repeated repetition of a noun. Possessive pronouns, as a rule, are at the end of the sentence and are stressed:

This car is mine. - This car - my.

This file is yours. - This folder - yours.

This desk is his. - This table - his.

This chair is hers. - This chair - her.

This flat is ours. - This apartment - our.

This camera is theirs. - This camera - their.

Possessive pronouns can be at the beginning of a sentence and act as a noun, if the noun was indicated earlier and the interlocutors understand what is being said:

My book is on the desk. Yours is on the shelf. (yours = your book) - My book is on the table. Your (book) is on the shelf.

His sister studies at school. Hers works in an office. (hers = her sister) - His sister is in school. Her (sister) - works in the office.

Our house is new. Theirs is older. (theirs = their house) - Our house is new. Their (house) is older.

Possessive pronoun forms for it does not exist.

The difference between "my friend" and "a friend of mine".

Possessive pronouns are sometimes used with nouns and the preposition of. In particular, in the expression a friend of mine/ his/ hers etc.

Yesterday I met a friend of mine.
Max told us an anecdote about a friend of his.

There is little semantic difference between "my friend" And "a friend of mine".

"My friend" talking about a close friend. If you call a person "my friend", then you have a warm trusting relationship with him.

But, like everyone, there are people in your life with whom you maintain normal relations, but you cannot call them friends. These are your friends, acquaintances or "friends of friends". "A friend of mine" implies that the person is not very close to you, familiar. Himself indicates that this is "one of" friends, someone "indefinite".

This is my friend Bill. ("my friend" - before the name)
This is Bill, a friend of mine. ("a friend of mine" - after the name)

With a phrase "a friend of mine" associated with one amusing fact. In English culture, there is a concept urban myth(BrE) or urban legend(Ame). This is a story, usually with an unexpected, humorous or instructive ending, which the narrator passes off as a real event. We call such stories "tales" or "fictions". These incidents allegedly happen to a certain acquaintance of the narrator, and the name of the acquaintance is never specified. Most of these stories (or "tales") begin with the words: This happened to a friend of mine... (This happened to one of my friends...).

That's all you need to know about possessive adjectives and pronouns. Visit our site more often and make progress in learning English!

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