Possessives are useful when we want to say that something belongs to someone. IN English language Unlike Russian, there are two forms: possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives. About the latest - possessive adjectives in English and speak today.

General information

Before we begin to consider theory, let's turn to practice. You can say the following about your house: “This is my house” or “This house is mine.” At first glance, there is no difference: rearranging the place of the lexeme “my” does not change the meaning of the sentence. This statement is partly true for the English language. But only partly, since in the first case the possessive adjective my (my) is used, and in the second the possessive pronoun mine (my).

The structure of these sentences is also different:

This is my house - This is my house.
This house is mine - This house is mine.

As you can see, in the first example, the possessive adjective my (my) comes before the noun, describing it and answering the question What? (Which?). In the second, the possessive pronoun stands at the end of the sentence, replacing the noun and not naming it. But this is practice. Now let's move on to the theory.

Possessive adjectives

In English there are 8 possessive adjectives based on the number of personal pronouns:

They answer the question “Whose?” and describe an object, indicating that it belongs to someone or something. As befits an adjective, it is used before the noun it modifies, but always without an article:

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my children - my children, his son - his son, her work - her work, our city - our city.

note to the possessive adjective its (his), which denotes that something belongs to an animal or inanimate object. It should not be confused with it’s, which is short form combinations of a pronoun and a verb It is (It is) or It has (He has).

Possessive pronouns

As can be seen from the table above in English there are 7 possessive pronouns. They indicate that an object or objects belong to one or more persons. Their function is to replace a noun. Therefore, in a sentence they are usually used independently, without nouns, at the beginning or at the end of the sentence:

This city is ours - This city is ours.
This red bag is hers - This red bag is hers.
These pens are theirs - These pens are theirs.

In the case where previously we were talking about some object, person or phenomenon expressed by a noun, and this is clear from the context, instead of this noun the corresponding possessive pronoun is used at the beginning of the sentence:

Our flat is on the third floor. Theirs (their flat) is on the fifth. - Our apartment is on the third floor. Theirs is on the fifth.
His brother works at the factory. Mine (my bother) works at the office. - His brother works at a factory. Mine is in the office.

note to the fact that in Russian textbooks on English grammar, possessive forms are not divided into possessive adjectives and pronouns, and are classified only as possessive pronouns. English and American textbook authors insist on separation.

What have we learned?

In English there are possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns. The former are always used without an article before a noun. Possessive pronouns come at the end or beginning of a sentence and are not used after them by a noun.

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Possessive (translated as possessive) in English grammar is a form of nouns and pronouns that expresses the belonging of objects to someone or something, answering the question whose(whose?). Distinguish possessive nouns, pronouns and adjectives, which we will look at in this article.

Possessive nouns - possessive nouns

The possessive form of nouns in English is formed in two ways:

1) By adding an apostrophe and a letter s (-‘s) at the end of a word. Typically this form is used when we're talking about about people, groups of people, organizations, animals, as well as time periods and geographic places.

2) By adding a preposition of. This form is most often used for things, objects, ideas, but can also be used for people and organizations (groups of people).

In some cases, it is possible to use both forms.

People: Steve's daughter, Marina - Marina's hand
Animals: dog's tail, bird's eggs
Groups of people: the Smith‘s children, company‘s success = the success of the company
Time periods: today‘s magazine, next week‘s work, Monday‘s news
Places: Russia‘s president, the city‘s streets

the window of the house (windows of the house)
the title of the book (book title)
the top of the tower(top of the tower)
the middle of the night (middle of the night)
the buildings of the town (city buildings)
the name of the company (Company name)
the sister of Mary (Mary's sister)

Most nouns in plural ends with - s. To form a possessive form, only an apostrophe is added to them. Adding an apostrophe only affects writing and has no effect on pronunciation.

Let’s take two sentences as an example: “ They are his sisters" And " “His sisters’ house is very big.” Pronunciation of words sisters[ˈsɪstəz] and sisters'[ˈsɪstəz] will be the same.

However, not all plural nouns end in - s. Such nouns form the possessive form by adding 's at the end of a word:

women's dresses, children's names, men's hats, people's steps

Possessive adjectives - possessive adjectives

Possessive adjectives or possessive determiners may also be called possessive pronouns, which are discussed in the next paragraph, but to distinguish them from the latter, they are separated into a special group. The following table shows which pronouns belong to which group.

Application examples possessive adjectives:

1) To indicate the ownership of things:

It's my bycicle. (This is my bike)
Their house is very nice. (Their house is very nice)
His hat is red. (His hat is red)

2) To indicate family and friendly ties between people:

My mother (my mother), her friends (her friends) their parents (their parents)

3) For body parts:

She's broken her leg (She broke (her) leg)
They looked at their hands (They looked at their hands)
I am brushing my teeth (I brush (my) teeth)

Possessive pronouns - possessive pronouns

Used instead of a noun with a possessive determiner, for example, instead of It's my sweater one might say It's mine. More examples:

Are they your parents? - Yes, they are mine. (Are these your parents? - Yes, they are mine.)
Whose carpet is this? Is it yours? (Whose carpet is this? Is it yours?)
Are these books ours? - No, they’re theirs. (Are these our books? - No, these are theirs.)
Whose cup is that? - That's hers. (Whose cup is this? - It’s hers.)

Possessive pronouns are also used after of:

He is one of my teacher. He is a teacher of mine (He is one of my teachers. He is my teacher.)

Exercises on possessive

1. Fill in the correct possessive pronoun or adjective(fill in with the correct possessive pronoun or adjective)

Please take off ____________ shoes when you enter my house.
My father always loses ____________ glasses.
I saw Joe and Cathrine with ____________ son, Harry.
My mother helped me with ____________ homework.
This is their book. Those other books are ____________ too.
Clara didn’t have a ticket, so I gave her ____________.

2. Fill in the correct possessive noun(fill in with the correct possessive noun)

What is your ____________ name? (sister).
Where are ____________ children (Chris).
Do you still have ____________ newspaper? (yesterday).
Two days ago I visited ____________ school (girls).
There is a ____________ nest on the tree (bird).
I like our ____________ ecology policy (government).

Everyone knows and successfully uses the word my. When the word mine appears, things get more complicated. Unfortunately, not everyone understands the difference between my And mine. So that you understand and always clearly know which word to use, we have prepared an accessible and detailed explanation for you.

Let's start with examples. About your car you can say: “This is my car” or “This car is mine.” At first glance there is no difference, the meaning is the same. But not in English! Because in each of these sentences the word "my" translated differently. In the first sentence you use a possessive adjective, and in the second you use a possessive pronoun!

Possessive adjectives(Possessive Adjectives) and possessive pronouns(Possessive Pronouns) are used to indicate ownership and answer the question Whose?(Whose?)

Possessive Adjectives

The main function of any adjective (including possessive) is to describe a noun. The place of the adjective is before the noun. Therefore, possessive adjectives come before nouns and describe them:

This is my car. - This my car.

This is your file.- This is yours folder.

This is his desk. - This his table.

This is her chair - This her chair.

This is our flat. - This our apartment.

This is their camera - This their camera.

If another descriptive adjective refers to a noun, then the possessive comes before it in the sentence:

Kate is my best friend. - Kate - my best friend.

He is reading his new book. - He reads my new book.

If there is a possessive adjective before a noun, then the article is never placed:

She took a her bag and left. - She took her bag and left.

The children are playing with a their new ball. - The children are playing with their new ball.

How to say "your" in English?

If you look closely at the examples above, you will notice that the word "mine" has different translations. As such, there is no word “own” in the English language. It is translated as one of the possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) depending on the subject of the sentence:

I will finish my report on Friday. - I will finish mine report on Friday.

You should tidy your room every day. - You should clean up my room every day.

He visits his relatives in summer. - He visits their relatives in the summer.

She is proud of her son. - She's proud his son.

The dog is eating from its bowl. - The dog eats from his bowls.

We spent our holiday in the mountains. - We spent mine vacation in the mountains.

They let their children stay up late. - They allow his Children should not go to bed late.

Possessive adjectives are always used with nouns that indicate belonging to someone. items of clothing And members of the same family, and body parts, personal belongings:

She was wearing her best dress yesterday. (NOT the best dress) - Yesterday she was in her best dress.

The boy washed his face and brushed his teeth. (NOT the face, the teeth) - The boy washed his face and brushed (his) teeth.

He loves his parents very much. (NOT the parents) - He loves his parents very much.

She keeps her books in the bookcase. (NOT the books) - She keeps her books in the bookcase.

Word "mine" is not always translated into Russian, but in English usage possessive adjectives Necessarily.

Next two rules will be useful for students of intermediate level and above. In some cases, with nouns denoting parts of the body, it is possible to use the definite article the rather than a possessive adjective:

1. When a noun does not refer to the subject, that is, the performer of the action (subject), and to the complement - to the one to whom the action is directed (object).

The woman patted the child on the head. - The woman stroked the child’s head.

Noun head refers to the object (the child), not the subject (the woman), so you should use definite article the, not a possessive adjective.

2. When it comes to pain, damage or shock. In such sentences there are prepositions (in, on) combines with the following verbs:
hit- hit, hit
punch- hit with a fist
slap- clap, slap
bite- bite
pat- clap
sting- sting

An old man has a pain in the back.- The old man has a back pain.

A bee stung me in the arm. - A bee stung my hand.

Possessive adjective its.

The adjective its, which is used with inanimate objects (inanimate objects), can be replaced by of it:

This house is very expensive. I can't tell you its price.
or
I can't tell you the price of it.- This house is expensive. I can't tell you its price.

Please note that its and it’s are not the same thing.

It's is a possessive adjective that refers to an inanimate object or animal.

I have got a cat. Its tail is long. - I have a cat. His tail is long.

It's is a shortened form of either it is, or from it has:

I have got a cat. It's a white cat. (It’s = it is) - I have a cat. This is a white cat.

I've got a cat. It's got a long tail. (It’s got = it has got) - I have a cat. The cat has a long tail.

Possessive Pronouns

Pronouns are used without a noun because the function of pronouns is to replace the noun. We use them to avoid repeating the noun over and over again. Possessive pronouns are usually found at the end of a sentence and are stressed:

This car is mine. - This car - my.

This file is yours. - This folder - yours.

This desk is his. - This table - his.

This chair is hers. - This chair - her.

This flat is ours. - This apartment - our.

This camera is theirs. - This camera - their.

Possessive pronouns can be at the beginning of a sentence and act as a noun, if the noun was indicated earlier and the interlocutors understand what is being said:

My book is on the desk. Yours is on the shelf. (yours = your book) - My book is on the table. Your (book) is on the shelf.

His sister studies at school. Hers works in an office. (hers = her sister) - His sister is studying at school. Her (sister) works in an office.

Our house is new. Theirs is older. (theirs = their house) - Our house is new. Their (house) is older.

Possessive pronoun forms for it does not exist.

The difference between “my friend” and “a friend of mine”.

Possessive pronouns are sometimes used with nouns and the preposition of. In particular in the expression “ a friend of mine/ his/ hers etc.”

Yesterday I met a friend of mine.
Max told us an anecdote about a friend of his.

There is little semantic difference between "my friend" And "a friend of mine".

"My friend" talk about close friend. If you call a person “my friend,” then you have a warm, trusting relationship with him.

But, like everyone, there are people in your life with whom you maintain normal relationships, but cannot call them friends. These are your friends, acquaintances or “friends of friends.” "A friend of mine" implies that the person is not very close to you, familiar. He himself indicates that this is “one of” his friends, someone “undefined”.

This is my friend Bill. (“my friend” - before the name)
This is Bill, a friend of mine. (“a friend of mine” - after the name)

With the phrase "a friend of mine" one is associated fun fact. In English-speaking culture there is a concept "urban myth"(BrE) or "urban legend"(AmE). This is a story, usually with an unexpected, humorous or instructive ending, which the narrator passes off as a real event. We call such stories “tales” or “fiction”. These incidents allegedly happen to a certain acquaintance of the narrator, and the name of the acquaintance is never specified. Most of these stories (or “tales”) begin with the words: This happened to a friend of mine... (This happened to one of my friends...).

That's all you need to know about possessive adjectives and pronouns. Visit our website often and make progress in learning English!

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Possessive pronouns go hand in hand with personal pronouns: every personal pronoun has a possessive. Possessive pronouns in English answer the question whose? (whose?), their function is to determine belonging. It is important to note that the absolute form of possessive pronouns in English is used to replace the noun itself, that is, the directly defined word. Let's look at the types of possessive pronouns and the features of their use.

The absolute form of possessive pronouns in English: a parallel with the basic form

Possessive pronouns are characterized by the presence of two forms => basic and absolute. The main form performs the function of definition and its task is to always come before the noun. The absolute form, which is the second, is used directly to replace the noun itself, that is, the word being defined.

So, from the table it is clear that possessive pronouns include such as my, your, his, her, its, our, their, mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs.

Examples

• Sarah decided to leave her job to find the better one => Sarah decided to leave her job to find a better one.
• Mr. Thompson took his shirt to see whether it will suit to his trousers => Mr. Thompson took his shirt to see if it would match his trousers.
• We really want to taste our cakes to see whether they are really so delicious as people say => We really want to try our cakes to see if they are really as tasty as people say.

The main task of possessive pronouns is to reflect belonging to something or the connection of objects

• My window is of white color and her is brown => My window is white, hers is brown.
• My pencils are sharp but his– not => My pencils are sharp, his are not.

Today we are studying the topic of absolute pronouns, but in order to understand the features of their use, let’s draw a parallel with pronouns in the attached form.

So, as we have already said, attached pronouns are necessarily used with a noun =>

• My rabbit is black and white => My rabbit is black and white.
• Your husband is so handsome I can’t stand but look at him! => Your husband is so handsome that I can’t help but look at him!
• Our plates are of yellow color while our neighbors decided to buy some of red color => Our plates are yellow, but our neighbors decided to buy some red.

Features of using the absolute form

From the examples it is clear that the basic form of possessives cannot be used without a noun, the meaning is lost and the sentence will not be correct. As for absolute pronouns, they are created in order to . Using the absolute form of possessive pronouns is convenient when you need to avoid repeating the subject being defined =>

• It is his pen => This is his pen.
• This pen is his => This pen is his.

Let's give examples with her - hers, since the pronoun his is the same in different forms.

• It is her car => This is her car.
• This car is hers=> This car is hers.

Another striking example =>

• Whose phone is it? —It's his/hers .
• Whose car is this? - This is his/hers.

(his/hers are used instead of his car/her car).

Important! Absolute pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, ours, yours, theirs) are intended to replace nouns

• What cats like to eat? => Mine likes Kitekat.
• What do cats like to eat? – Mine loves Kitekat.
• Mine use instead my cat.
• Are this mine? => Yes, it is yours.
• It is mine? - Yes, it's yours.

On a note! If we are talking about the possessive pronoun its, then it is important to remember that it must be used without an apostrophe. If you see the form it's, then this is a shortened version of the phrase it is.

Functions of possessive pronouns in absolute form

Possessive pronouns in absolute form perform several functions in a sentence. The functions are different and depend on the characteristics of the context. Let's look at some striking examples =>

1. As a subject

These are not her pencils. Hers are in her bag => These are not her pencils. She (be) in her bag.

Where is the lollipop? Yours is in fridge. It is too hot here => Where is the lollipop? Yours is in the refrigerator. It's very hot here.

1. In addition function

Our texts are better than yours(instead of your texts) => Our texts are better than yours.

Her shoes are much more glamorous than yours(instead of your shoes) => Her shoes are much more glamorous than yours.

1. As a function of the nominal part of the predicate

Whose chinchilla is this? – It is hers .

Whose chinchilla is this? - Her.

Whose red Maybach is it? – It is mine.

Whose red Maybach is this? - My.

Note! After the absolute form of the noun we we don't put it!

Let's sum it up

The absolute pronoun helps make speech simpler and easier without violating the meaning of the sentence. It is better to study possessive pronouns in absolute form in parallel with a topic that reveals the peculiarities of using the basic form of such pronouns. The topic is easy, and if you support the acquired knowledge with examples, you will understand it very quickly.

Natalya Glukhova

Possessive case of adjectives in English

29/04 2018

Good afternoon dear friends!
We have already found out that in English there are much fewer cases than in Russian, which is why it is easy to learn (read the article “Cases of nouns in English”). Did you know that not everything that is a pronoun in Russian is such in a foreign one? Therefore, in the article “Possessive case of adjectives in English” we will, in fact, talk about pronouns.

From this article you will learn:

How do they look

Let's first remember what it is. It is used to indicate ownership of something. For example, My cat is 7 years old (My cat is seven years old). The fact is that pronouns in this case are considered adjectives. I will present to you a table, in the first column of which they are in the initial form, and in the second they are already possessive:

As you remember, it refers to inanimate nouns, but it can also express ownership, since, in addition, it also replaces animals. The cat was eating its food.

Like all adjectives, possessives come directly before the subject they refer to: Their house is very big. Their belongs to house, so it comes before it.

Possessive adjectives

What to pay attention to:
It should be remembered that if the word is in the plural, –s is not added to the adjective. Her gardens are really beautiful (Her gardens are very beautiful). Hers gardens are really beautiful.

However, the verb must be consistent with the noun, that is, if the noun is singular, then the verb must also be singular. If the noun is plural, then so is the verb.

Examples:
Our car is expensive (Our car is expensive) – singular.
Our cars are expensive (Our cars are expensive) – plural.
His child is smart (His child is smart).
His children are smart (His children are smart).
Be careful with its and it's. Just one apostrophe, but so many differences! Indeed, in the second case, this is a shortened form of the verb to be - it is or from it has. Accordingly, the construction of sentences will be completely different:
The dog is playing with its toy (The dog is playing with his toy).
It’s (It is) a dog’s toy (This is a dog’s toy).
It’s (It has) been nice to see you (It was nice to see you).

False doubles

Pronouns have possessive(possessive pronoun). It looks very similar to the possessive adjective, but we add –s to almost everything at the end. Take a look at the table and compare them:

Possessive pronouns

Why are they so similar? Possessive pronoun (second column) is used to avoid repeating information that is already obvious. Compare:
This phone is my phone, not your phone (This is my phone, not yours).
This phone is mine not yours.
Do you agree that the second sentence is much more compact than the first? Mine here replaces two words at once: my phone. Yours replaces your phone.

As you have already realized, a noun will never be placed after the words of the second column. Some of them have exactly the same form as adjectives. For example, its, and some are different: your – yours.

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In addition, you need to remember that they do not use an apostrophe.

Possessive adjectives and pronouns

They are also often used in the construction a friend + of + possessive pronouns.
For example, I’m going to see a friend of mine tonight (I’m going to see my friend today).

I want to advise you to take a couple of lessons at the marinarusakova school. I tried this service myself and really liked it! It’s simple, it’s interesting to study and the tasks are useful! Learning English can be fun, and the teacher knows how to work with all levels and will quickly find a common language with you.

They can also be found in a stable expression used in business letter when we finish it:
Yours faithfully (when we don’t know the name of the person with whom we are corresponding).
Yours sincerely (when we know the name).

Let's work through the material

In order for everything that I just told you to fit well into your head, you must definitely do the exercises.
In the missing places, insert the possessive adjective that suits the meaning:

1. She walks dog every day.
   Example: She walks ____ her dog every day.
2. We are checking ____ luggage in, we will call you back later.
3. The cat was feeding ____ kittens when I came home.
4. He never leaves ____ car open.
5. Ellen’s parents have sold ____ yacht.
6. Have you found ____ keys?
7. I’m going to drink ____ coffee and then I’ll go to work.
8. Anna is going to Ireland with ____ sister.
9. Daniel likes playing tennis, it’s ____ favorite hobby.
10. Steve met ____ wife a year ago.
11. Paul and Lilly are going to see ____ parents tonight.

In the missing places, insert an appropriate adjective or pronoun. More than one option is possible.

1. He is not James’s friend, he is.
   He is not James's friend. It's mine.
2. – Where is my coffee?
3. – Fred has dank ____ coffee.
4. Jenny was a friend of ____.
5. My city is big while ____ isn’t.
6. Has ____ father called?
7. Lucy talked to ____ grandmother yesterday.
8. It isn't my pencil. It is ____.
9. Mary has got two brothers. ____ names are Rick and John.
10. Our car is white and ____ is black.
11. Is it your tea? No it's not ____.
12. Don't touch this toy. It is not ____.
13. Janet can't find ____ bag.
14. Max is going on holidays with a friend of ____.
15. Mr. and Mrs. Stone love gardening. ____ garden is really lovely.
16. Look at this beautiful dog. ____ fur is so fluffy.

By the way, did you really know?

And finally, I offer an exercise for the youngest polyglots. If you are with the whole family, show this picture to your children and ask them to insert a word that makes sense.