Possessive pronouns
Mine, yours, hers, ours and theirs: what they replace, and the apostrophe they never need.
The answer
A possessive pronoun, such as mine, yours or theirs, shows who something belongs to and stands in for a whole noun phrase.
Examples
That red bike is mine.
Mine means my bike.
Is this water bottle yours or hers?
Their garden is bigger than ours.
Ours means our garden. Their is a possessive working as a determiner, so it is not marked.
The idea was his, but the drawing was mine.
How to spot it
- It usually comes with no noun after it: the coat is hers.
- Swap it for a longer phrase: mine means my bike, theirs means their garden.
- None of them has an apostrophe: yours, hers, ours, theirs.
The common mistake
Adding an apostrophe: your’s, her’s, our’s, their’s.
Possessive pronouns already show ownership, so none of them has an apostrophe. The same goes for its (belonging to it). It’s always means it is or it has.
When it is taught
- First met
- Year 4
- On the pupil word list
- Year 4, as “possessive pronoun”
Year 4, in the same terminology row as pronoun, determiner and adverbial.
Try a question
Which sentence uses a possessive pronoun correctly? Tick one.
- The blue coat is her’s.
- The blue coat is hers.
- The blue coat is hers’.
- The blue coat is she’s.
Show the answer
Answer: The blue coat is hers.
Possessive pronouns never have an apostrophe. She’s is short for she is or she has.
Related terms
- Practise the 11+ skill: Select a pronoun form
- Practise the 11+ skill: Distinguish contraction and possession
More grammar terms
Questions parents ask
Are my, your and their possessive pronouns?
The national curriculum glossary calls them possessives that can act as determiners, because they sit in front of a noun. Many schools also call them possessive pronouns. The words that are only ever possessive pronouns are mine, yours, hers, ours and theirs, which always stand on their own. His can be either, as the next answer explains.
Does its have an apostrophe?
Its, meaning belonging to it, never does: the dog wagged its tail. It’s, with an apostrophe, is short for it is or it has.
Is his a possessive pronoun?
His works both ways. In ‘his hat’ it sits before a noun, like a determiner. In ‘the hat is his’ it stands alone, as a possessive pronoun.
Grammar turns up in 11+ English too
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