# My or mine? Possessive adjectives and pronouns in English

Possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her) come before a noun; possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers) replace the noun. The full list, the 's ending with names, and common mistakes.

Author: Aslıgül Aşkın · Published: 2026-10-06
Page address: https://grammardots.com/en/blog/possessive-adjectives-and-pronouns

In English, two groups of words show possession: possessive adjectives go before a noun (“This is my book.”), and possessive pronouns replace the noun and stand alone (“This book is mine.”). Turkish can say both with “benim”, so the choice depends on whether a noun follows.

## The list

I: my / mine. You: your / yours. He: his / his. She: her / hers. It: its / –. We: our / ours. They: their / theirs. Example: “Is this your phone?” – “No, it isn't mine. It's hers.”

## 's with names

To show that something belongs to a person, add 's to the name: “Ali's car”, “my sister's room”. Plural nouns ending in -s take only an apostrophe: “my parents' house”. This form can also stand alone like a pronoun: “Whose bag is this?” – “It's Ayşe's.”

## Common mistakes for Turkish speakers

Because Turkish uses “onun” for both men and women, “his” and “her” are often mixed up: say “her mother” when talking about a woman and “his mother” when talking about a man. The second common mistake is mixing “its” and “it's”: “its” shows possession (“The dog wagged its tail.”), while “it's” is short for “it is”.

## A short exercise

Write who five things in your home belong to, in two ways: first with a possessive adjective (“This is my mug.”), then with a possessive pronoun (“This mug is mine.”). Use “his” at least once, “her” once, and 's once.

To keep going, see [Family members in English and introducing your family](https://grammardots.com/en/blog/family-members-in-english) and [Am, is, are in English: how to use the verb to be](https://grammardots.com/en/blog/verb-to-be-am-is-are).

## Frequently asked questions

### How is “whose” used?

It asks who owns something: “Whose keys are these?” “Who's” is short for “who is”.

### Is “a friend of mine” correct?

Yes. It is a common pattern meaning one of my friends: “She's a friend of mine.”