Oh my! Possessive adjectives: How and When to Use in English

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Oh my! Possessive adjectives

We use possessive adjectives to show that something belongs to or has a relationship to a person or thing.

SUBJECTPOSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE
Imy bag
Youyour sisters
He ♂his houses
She ♀her story
Itits colour
Weour table
Youyour ideas
Theytheir car

You have a dog → Your dog.

Always place the possessive adjective before the noun it refers to.

Their idea is brilliant.

Like other adjectives, possessive adjectives do not agree in gender or number with the word that follows them.

My cat is cute. My cats are cute.

Her brother speaks English. Her sister speaks English.

Note: to ask a question about possession, we use whose

-Whose car is this? -It is my car.

-Whose are these socks? -They are their socks.

Exercise 1

Complete the table with the missing possessive adjectives. Use the “Help me” button if you need a hand.

SUBJECTPOSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE
I friends
Youyour friends
He ♂ friends
She ♀her friends
It friends
Weour friends
You friends
Theytheir friends
SUBJECTPOSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE
Imy friends
Youyour friends
He ♂his friends
She ♀her friends
Itits friends
Weour friends
Youyour friends
Theytheir friends
Help me
Test yourself

Complete the table with the missing possessive adjectives. Use the “Help me” button if you need a hand.

SUBJECTPOSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE
Imy 1 friends
Youyour friends
He ♂his 2 friends
She ♀her friends
Itits 3 friends
Weour friends
Youyour 4 friends
Theytheir friends
1 my:

I → my friends  . When the possessor is I, always use my Possessive adjectives, before singular and plural nouns. Examples: I → my cat; I → my job.

2 his:

He → his friends   Possessive adjectives. Use his when the possessor is equivalent to he (♂). Examples: Roger → his family; Roger → his phones.

3 its:

It → its friends  . Use its Possessive adjectives when you are speaking about something that belongs to, or is a part of, an animal, plant or object (it). Examples: the lion → its tail; the tree → its leaves.

4 your:

You → your friends  . Note that your Possessive adjectives is used for both the singular and plural possessive. Examples: you → your children; you → your hand.

Exercise 2

Fill in the blanks with the possessive adjectives that correspond to the subjects in brackets.

Example: car (I) → my car.

Books (you) →  books.

Boyfriend (she) → boyfriend.

Family (they) →  family.


Fill in the blanks with the possessive adjectives that correspond to the subjects in brackets.

Example: car (I) → my car.

Books (you) → your 1 books.

Boyfriend (she) → her 2 boyfriend.

Family (they) → their 3 family.

1 your:

Books (you) → your books. When the possessor is you, use your Possessive adjectives before singular and plural words (like books). Examples: your bike; your shoes.

2 her:

Boyfriend (she) → her boyfriend. Use her Possessive adjectives when the possessor is she (♀). Examples: her brother; her garden.

3 their:

Family (they) → their family. Possessive adjectives Examples: their projects; their holiday.

Exercise 3

Fill in the blanks with the possessive adjectives that correspond to the subjects in brackets.

Example: Mother (you) → your mother.

Job (I) →  job.

Room (he) → room.

House (we) → houses.


Fill in the blanks with the possessive adjectives that correspond to the subjects in brackets.

Example: Mother (you) → your mother.

Job (I) → my 1 job.

Room (he) → his 2 room.

House (we) → our 3 houses.

1 my:

Job (I) → my job. Possessive adjectives Example: my eyes are green.

2 his:

Room (he) → his room Possessive adjectives. We use his when the possessor is he. Example: his brother is young.

3 our:

Houses (we) → our houses. Possessive adjectives Example: our meal is light.


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