Pronouns and possessives, part 3 of 6

Possessive Adjectives: My, Your, His, Her, Its, Our, Their

They go before a noun and say who owns it: my phone, her car. They do not change for plurals: my friends.

A1 · 14 minBefore:Object pronouns

The idea

What a possessive adjective is

It is the word before a noun that says who owns it. It changes with the owner, never with the thing.

It goes before the noun. my phone, your keys.
The owner decides. A man his, a woman her: Pedro and his sister.
It does not change for plurals. my friend, my friends.

When to use it

To say who something belongs to: your family, your details, other people's things. These expressions go with it:

Family

my mom
his parents
her husband
our kids

Your details

your name
my phone number
their address
my birthday

Everyday phrases

It's your turn.
Take your time.
On my way!
In my opinion

Examples

Your things
This is my new jacket.
A man's
His wife is a nurse.
A woman's
Ana loves her job.
A thing's
This phone has a crack in its screen.
Your group's
Our office is on the fifth floor.
Other people's
My neighbors park their car here.

How to build it

3 steps

Think about the ownerThe owner decides, not the thing:Pedro + car
Choose the owner's wordA man his, a woman her, a thing (or an animal you do not know) its, several people their; a pet is usually his or her:his car
Put it before the thingIt does not change for plurals:his cars

At the start

PossessiveTheir
nounkids
rest of the sentenceplay soccer.

After the verb

SubjectI
verblove
possessiveyour
nounidea.

The rule

One possessive for each owner

Pronoun	Possessive	Example
I	my	my keys
you	your	your bag
he	his	his shoes
she	her	her glasses
it	its	its door
we	our	our garden
they	their	their plans

The owner decides the word

Owner	Possessive	Example
a man	his	his car
a woman	her	her car
the listener	your	your car
several people	their	their car
a thing	its	its food

How to pronounce it

my
/maɪ/
It rhymes with I: /maɪ/.
your
/jɔr/
It sounds the same as you're (you are).
his
/hɪz/
The final s buzzes: /z/.
its
/ɪts/
It sounds the same as it's (it is).
our
/aʊr/
It sounds like hour: /aʊr/.
their
/ðɛr/
Tongue between the teeth. It sounds the same as there and they're.

Check

Pablo lives with (blank) sister. Which word goes in the blank?

Don't confuse it with it's and you're

The company has its own app.

Its: who owns the app

It's very late.

It's: it is

Its, your, and their say who owns something. It's, you're, and they're are short forms of be: it is, you are, they are. They sound the same.

Verb to be contractions

In real life

Your is for one person or many, friends or strangers: Is this your bag, sir? Thank you for your help, everyone.

Frequently asked questions

Do possessive adjectives change for plurals in English?

No. My, your, his, and the rest stay the same: my friend, my friends. Only the noun takes the -s.

How do you choose between his and her in English?

By the owner, not the thing: Pedro and his mother, Ana and her father.

Can you say "the my car" in English?

No. The possessive already works like an article: my car, not the my car. Not a my friend either: say a friend of mine, which you see in part 4.

Is your for one person or for several?

Both. Thank you for your help works for one person or a whole group.

In short

Before the noun: my, your, his, her, its, our, their.
The owner decides: Luis and his mom, Ana and her dad.
They do not change for plurals: my friends.
Its has no apostrophe; it's means it is.

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