We use possessive determiners before a noun: "It's my handbag."
The possessive determiners are:
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st person
|
my |
our |
2nd person
|
your |
your |
3rd person
|
his, her, its* |
their |
Possessive pronouns can stand alone: "It's
mine."
The possessive pronouns are:
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
1st person
|
mine |
ours |
2nd person
|
yours |
yours |
3rd person
|
his, hers, its* |
theirs |
*Note that there is no apostrophe in the possessive pronoun its.
You can say:
"It's (It is) my handbag."
To answer the question "Whose handbag is this?" you'd say: "It's mine."
? "Is this book yours?"
+ "Yes, it's mine."
– "No. It's Mike's — it's his."
We say "a friend of mine", not "a friend of me".
"A friend of Lara's" = "a friend of hers"
We use a possessive determiner before "own". We cannot say "an own" in English.
"He's just bought a flat of his own."
"She's going on holiday on her own."
Now try the exercises on the next page.
Dagmar Taylor
Where to Go When: Great Britain and Ireland 