Grammar guide Updated 2026-09-12
Possessive Adjectives: A Simple Teaching Guide
Possessive adjectives are the seven words that go in front of a noun to show who owns it: my, your, his, her, its, our, their. They never change for the noun — one friend or ten friends, it is still my friends — and that fixed shape is where most of the teaching time goes.
The seven possessive adjectives
| Subject | Possessive adjective | Possessive pronoun | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | my | mine | This is my coat. The coat is mine. |
| you | your | yours | Your seat is here. This seat is yours. |
| he | his | his | His phone is new. The new phone is his. |
| she | her | hers | Her keys are here. The keys are hers. |
| it | its | — | The cat licked its paw. |
| we | our | ours | Our street is quiet. The quiet street is ours. |
| they | their | theirs | Their house is old. The old house is theirs. |
Two things follow from the table. A possessive adjective never stands alone: it always has a noun right after it. And his and its do not change form — the adjective and the pronoun look identical for his, while its has no possessive pronoun in everyday use.
Possessive adjective or possessive pronoun?
The pair to keep straight is my and mine: the adjective needs a noun, the pronoun replaces it.
| Possessive adjective + noun | Possessive pronoun alone |
|---|---|
| This is my pen. | This pen is mine. |
| That is your bag. | That bag is yours. |
| Their dog barks all night. | The barking dog is theirs. |
A learner who writes This book is my has chosen the adjective and dropped its noun. There are two repairs: put the noun back, which sounds clumsy, or switch to the pronoun, This book is mine. The other direction fails too — mine book puts a pronoun where the adjective belongs.
Which word does the possessive follow?
The possessive adjective agrees with the owner, never with the thing owned. In She loves her brothers, her is chosen because the owner is she, even though the brothers are plural. In The boys lost their keys, their reports a plural owner and does not change for the plural keys. Learners whose first language makes the possessive follow the noun need repetition on this point rather than a longer explanation.
Watch the nouns that already carry an owner through an apostrophe. Maria's car and the teacher's desk use a possessive noun, not a possessive adjective, and the two never combine: Maria's her car repeats the same information twice.
Its, it's, their, there and they're
| Form | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| its | possessive adjective | The dog wagged its tail. |
| it's | contraction of it is or it has | It's raining. It's been a long day. |
| their | possessive adjective | They parked their car outside. |
| there | place or existence | Put it over there. There is one left. |
| they're | contraction of they are | They're waiting outside. |
The test takes two seconds. If you can replace the word with it is or they are and the sentence still works, you need the apostrophe. If you cannot, you need the possessive, which never carries one.
A four-step teaching sequence
- Replace, do not define. Write ten sentences with the owner in bold — Ana, the boys, my brother and I — and ask students to replace each owner with the right possessive adjective. The pattern appears before the grammar term does.
- Rebuild the table from memory. Blank the possessive column and let students fill it in. The gaps are predictable: its and their.
- Contrast the apostrophe. Give pairs of sentences with its and it's, or their and they're, and ask students which is which before you confirm with the replacement test.
- Produce with real objects. Students describe five things in their bag and who owns each one, then swap bags and ask a partner Whose is this? The question forms guide covers the word order in whose questions.
The mistakes learners make most often
✘ Me name is Ana. → ✔ My name is Ana.
An object pronoun cannot sit in front of a noun; the possessive adjective is required.
✘ The cat licked it's paw. → ✔ The cat licked its paw.
It's is a contraction of it is; the possessive has no apostrophe.
✘ Their going to miss there train. → ✔ They're going to miss their train.
They're means they are, their shows ownership, and there marks a place.
✘ This book is my. → ✔ This book is mine.
A possessive adjective needs a noun after it; use the possessive pronoun when nothing follows.
✘ My hair is longer than her. → ✔ My hair is longer than hers.
After a comparison you need the possessive pronoun, not the object pronoun.
How to practise possessive adjectives
These seven words appear in almost every sentence a beginner produces, so accuracy here pays off across the whole course. Learners need to meet them often enough that her arrives before the rule is recalled, and a short drill does that better than a long explanation.
Then mix the pattern with the tenses it sits inside, using the mixed review or the timed challenge. For class use, print the same questions as a worksheet with an answer key, or combine topics in the worksheet builder. The present simple guide covers the verb forms that follow these adjectives most often.
Browse the grammar drills → Vocabulary drills Quiz of the Day
Frequently asked questions
What are the possessive adjectives in English?
There are seven: my, your, his, her, its, our and their. Each one goes directly in front of a noun — my car, their house — and each matches the person or thing that owns, not the thing that is owned.
What is the difference between a possessive adjective and a possessive pronoun?
A possessive adjective sits before a noun (my bag); a possessive pronoun stands alone (the bag is mine). The pronoun replaces the noun, so the adjective cannot be used on its own.
Should I write its or it's?
Write its, without an apostrophe, when something belongs to it: the dog wagged its tail. Write it's with an apostrophe when you mean it is or it has: it's raining, it's been a long day.
Does a possessive adjective agree with the owner or with the thing owned?
With the owner. She loves her brothers uses her because the owner is she, even though the brothers are plural and male. The form of the noun after it makes no difference at all.
What is the difference between their, there and they're?
Their shows ownership (their car), there marks a place or existence (over there, there is one left), and they're is the contraction of they are (they're waiting). Replace the word with they are as a quick test.
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Every guide on this blog is paired with a free drill: the same rules, applied question by question, with explanations and a printable worksheet.