English possessive pronouns. Possessive pronouns in English: forms and usage. Difference between My and Mine, Your and Yours, etc

IN English, as in Russian, there are words that indicate that an object belongs to a person and answer the question Whose? (whose?): mine, yours, yours, ours, his, her, theirs / my, your, our, his, her, its, their. In Russian, these words are called possessive pronouns. In English, both pronouns and adjectives (mine, yours, etc.) are possessive. Unfortunately, many people often confuse my and mine. To sort out this confusion and clearly understand which word to use, an accessible and detailed explanation which follows.

Possessive adjectives in English are used in speech only in combination with nouns. The main function of any adjective is to describe a noun. The place of a possessive adjective is usually before the noun.

This is my car. - This is my car.
This is your dress. - This is your dress.
This is his pen. - This is his pen.
This is her desk. - This is her table.
This is our flat. - This is our apartment.
This is their pictures. - These are their drawings.

Possessive Pronouns are used when it is necessary to replace a noun. In most cases, this is done to avoid recurrence.

This car is mine. - This car is mine.
This dress is yours. - This dress is yours.
This pen is his. - This pen is yours.
This is not her bag. - This is not her bag. / Hers is red. - Hers is red. (hers = her bag).
I've got a parrot. Its cage is not big. - I have a parrot. His cage is not big.
This flat is ours. - This is our apartment.
This is not their style. - This is not their style. / Theirs is much more original. - They are much more original. (theirs = their style).

Singular
Possessive adjectives Possessive Adjectives	Possessive pronouns Possessive Pronouns
1st person my my, my, mine, mine	mine my, mine, mine, mine
2nd person your your	yours
3rd person his his, her her	his his, hers her
its his, her	its* him, her

Plural
Possessive adjectives Possessive Adjectives	Possessive pronouns Possessive Pronouns
1st person our [ˈaʊə] ours, ours, ours, ours	ours [ˈaʊəz] ours, ours, ours, ours
2nd person your yours, yours, yours, yours	yours yours, yours, yours, yours
3rd person their [ðeə] them	theirs [ðeəz] them

*Attention! Write the possessive pronoun its without an apostrophe. An apostrophe (it"s) is used only when abbreviating the phrase it is.

Possessive Adjectives: features of use

If in a sentence there is another descriptive adjective before the noun, then the possessive is written before it, but after words such as all (all) and both (both, both).

Jane is my best friend. — Jane is my best friend.
They are reading their new magazine. — They are reading their new magazine.
All my colleagues are here. — All my colleagues are here.
Both her parents are medicines. Both of his parents are doctors.

A possessive adjective before a noun eliminates the need for an article.

He took his book and left. — He took his book and left.
The children are playing with their new toy. — The children are playing with their new toy.

"Own" in English

There is no pronoun “your” in English, so when translating it is replaced by one of the possessive adjectives my, your, his, her, its, our, their (according to the person and number of the subject).

I love my dead. - I love my father.
She is washing her car. — She is washing her car.
We adore our children. - We adore our children.

English possessive adjectives used in combination with nouns, which denote parts of the body, personal belongings and items of clothing, are usually omitted during translation.

She usually dyes her hair every month. — She usually dyes her hair every month.
Every morning I clean my teeth. — Every morning I brush my teeth.
He has broken his arm. — He broke his arm.
Put on your hat, please. It's rather windy today. - Put on your hat, please. It's quite windy outside today.

Article the instead of Possessive Adjectives

There are two rules that are useful for intermediate and above students to know. There are cases when before nouns denoting parts of the body, they use not a possessive adjective, but a definite article the.

This is possible when:

1) the noun refers to the complement (object), and not the subject (subject), that is, not to the performer of the action, but to the one to whom the action is directed.

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

2) if the sentence talks about pain, damage or blows. Here prepositions (in, on) are combined with verbs such as:

hit - to hit, hit;
punch - to hit with a fist;
bite - bite;
pat - clap;
slap - clap, slap;
sting - to sting.

An old woman has a pain in the leg. — The old woman’s leg hurts.
A strange insect stung me in the arm. — strange insect stung my hand.

Constructions of your own / on your own

After possessive adjectives, the word own is sometimes used, reinforcing the meaning of belonging.

It was his own project. — It was his own project (that is, it was he who developed the project, and no one else).
She saw it with her own eyes. - She saw it with her own eyes (that is, she saw it herself).
This is our own house. - This is ours own house(that is, this house belongs exclusively to us).

The construction of (your) own (of + possessive adjective + own) is used in the same meaning.

I need a computer of my own. — I need my own computer (I don’t want to share it with anyone).
They have three small children of their own. - They have three small children of their own (that is, they have their own small children, so, for example, they cannot look after their friend’s children).

When translated, the expression on (your) own can have two meanings:

alone, alone:

Margaret lives on her own. Margaret lives alone.

She often likes being on her own. — She often likes to be alone.

independently, without outside help:

We did it on our own. - We did it ourselves.

I can make salad on my own. — I can make the salad myself.

Any student who begins to learn English from scratch on their own or with a teacher will already learn in the first lesson how to answer the question “ What's your name?” (Russian. What is your name?).

Answering “ My name is...“ (Russian. My name is...), he doesn’t even think that he already knows two possessive pronouns: my(my, mine, mine. mine) and your(Russian: yours, yours, yours, yours), without which it is impossible to communicate in English.

We use the same possessive pronouns for everything, but do we own our lives or sisters or husbands in the same way we own our shoes? Do we own any of them at all?

We use possessive pronouns for everything, but do we really own our lives, sisters, or husbands in the same way we own our shoes? Do we own it all?

~ Samantha Harvey

They may cause some misunderstanding on the part of those who are just starting to learn English and are encountering Possessive pronouns for the first time.

IN English grammar Two types of possessive pronouns coexist peacefully: Possessive Adjectives(possessive adjectives) and Possessive Pronouns(possessive pronouns). We will talk about them today in this article.

Possessive pronouns in English

Possessive pronouns help us understand that someone or something owns something. Signature on keychains: I am yours (Russian. I am yours), And you are mine (Russian. And you are mine)

Let's first remember what a possessive pronoun is.

Possessive pronouns(mine, yours, ours, and others) indicate the attribute of belonging to a certain person and answer the question whose? In Russian they agree with the noun in number, gender and case.

What about English possessive pronouns? There are two forms of possessive pronouns in English ( Possessive adjectives and Possessive pronouns), which vary in spelling and how they are used in a sentence.

Let's take a closer look at both forms of possessive pronouns in English.

Possessive Adjectives

Possessive pronouns in English, reminiscent of an adjective in its role in a sentence, and which are always used with a noun, are called Possessive Adjectives(Russian possessive adjective).

Below is a table of the formation of possessive pronouns in English and their comparison with personal pronouns.

Possessive pronouns dependent form (Table 1)

Possessive pronouns dependent form (Table 2)

When we want to indicate ownership, we cannot use !

Offer He name was Carl(Russian. His name was Karl) sounds strange and incorrect in both English and Russian. He is a personal pronoun. Replace it with a suitable possessive adjective his and get a grammatically and logically correct sentence: His name was Car l (Russian. His name was Karl)

Sometimes this form possessive pronouns or Possessive Adjectives called dependent, since it cannot be used independently, without a noun.

Remember!

Possessive pronouns-adjectives (Possessive Adjectives) in English they are used only in conjunction with a noun and always come before it.

Since dependent possessive pronouns resemble adjectives in their functionality, they also serve as a definition in a sentence.

Example sentences with possessive adjectives in English

Often, beginners learning English confuse possessive adjectives with abbreviated forms of the verb. to be:

your And you're (= you are)

its And it's (= it is)

Compare the use of possessive pronouns and the abbreviated form of the verb:

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns in English that can be used in a sentence without a noun are called Possessive Pronouns(Russian possessive pronoun).

Possessive Pronouns also called absolute or independent form of possessive pronouns. In this form, nouns are never placed after possessive pronouns, since these pronouns are used instead of nouns.

Remember!

Absolute possessive pronouns ( Possessive Pronouns) in English are used without a noun and serve in a sentence as the subject, object, or nominal part of the predicate.

Below is a table of the formation of absolute possessive pronouns in English and their comparison with personal pronouns.

Possessive pronouns in English absolute form (Table 1)

Possessive pronouns in English absolute form (Table 2)

English possessive pronouns in absolute form replace the possessive adjective ( Possessive Adjective) with a noun to avoid repetition of information, since everything is clear without it. For example:

This book is my book, not your book(Russian. This book is my book, not your book)

This book is mine, not yours(Russian. This book is mine, not yours)

As you noticed, in both Russian and English the second sentence sounds more natural. Let's look at how possessive pronouns are used in a sentence.

Examples of sentences with possessive pronouns in English

Sentence with possessive pronoun	Translation into Russian
What's mine is yours, my friend.	What's mine is yours, my friend.
I have broken my pencil. Please give me yours.	I broke my pencil. Please give me yours.
Are those gloves hers?	Those gloves are hers?
All the essays were good but his was the best.	All the essays were good, but his was the best.
The world is mine.	The world is mine.
Your photos are good. Ours are terrible.	Your photos are great, but ours are terrible.
These aren't John and Mary's children. Theirs have black hair.	These are not John and Mary's children. Theirs are black-haired.
John found his passport but Mary couldn't find hers.	John found his passport, but Mary could not find hers.
Is that chair yours?	Is this chair yours?
I know this drink is yours but I need to drink something.	I know this drink is yours, but I need something to drink.

Possessive pronoun its in absolute form it is used extremely rarely, only in conjunction with the word own:

The cottage seems asleep yet, but it may have a life of its own(Russian. It seemed that the cottage was still sleeping, but perhaps it lived its own life).

My or Mine? Possessive pronoun or adjective?

The poster has an inscription with a striking example of the use of possessive pronouns in the dependent and absolute form: “Because my body is mine (belongs to me!)”

As already mentioned, we use possessive adjectives and pronouns, when we need to express ownership. Both forms are translated into Russian in the same way.

Possessive adjective ( Possessive Adjective) is always used followed by a noun:

This is my pen(Russian: This is my pen), where my– possessive adjective, pen – following noun.

Possessive pronouns ( Possessive Pronouns) are always used independently, without an accompanying word:

This pen is mine(Russian: This pen is mine), where mine– a possessive pronoun after which we DO NOT NEED a noun.

Comparison chart of possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns.

The semantic load does not change in these two sentences. However, when we need to emphasize someone or something, it is better to use the absolute form.

Translation of English possessive pronouns

There is no difference in the meaning of possessive adjectives and pronouns in English and their translation into Russian.

English possessive pronouns in dependent and absolute forms are translated into Russian in the same way, but there are a few things you need to know about.

Translation of the possessive pronoun your into English

In English there is no special possessive pronoun corresponding to the Russian possessive pronoun ""svoy"".

Russian pronoun ""your"" translated into English appropriate possessive pronouns.

Examples of sentences in English with translation of the pronoun your

English possessive pronouns are usually not translated into Russian when they are combined with nouns denoting parts of the body or items of clothing, but are always present before the noun.

In Russian, possessive pronouns are usually not used with similar nouns. Compare English sentences with possessive sentences with translation:

Special cases of using possessive pronouns

Using the Of yours structure

Very often (especially in American English) you can hear the following construction: a friend/some friends of + mine, yours, etc:

I saw a friend of yours last night(Russian: I saw one of your friends last night) = I saw one of your friends last night.

Here are some friends of mine(Russian: Here are my friends) = Here are my friends.

Offers I saw one of your friends last night and I saw a friend of yours last night will be translated the same way: “Last night I saw one of your friends.” However, there is a slight semantic difference.

Let's look at phrases “my friend” And “a friend of mine”.

“My friend” will be said about a close friend. If you call a person “my friend”, it means you have a warm and trusting relationship with him. But, each of us has people with whom we just have good relationships. These are just our friends and acquaintances. This is exactly what we need here: “a friend of mine”.

The indefinite article itself indicates to us that “one of” friends, someone indefinite:

This is my friend Jessica.(“my friend” – before the name)

This is Jessica, a friend of mine.(“a friend of mine” – after the name)

We call these 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...).

When to use Yours faithfully and Yours sincerely

You've probably already come across the phrases Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely at the end of an official letter, for example:

Yours sincerely, Mary Wilkinson(Russian: Sincerely yours, Mary Wilkinson).

In business correspondence, these are irreplaceable phrases that need to be written at the end of the letter. Read more about the features of business English.

Examples of using the phrases “Yours faithfully” and “Yours sincerely”

Using an English noun in the genitive case

Possessive nouns can be used as possessive pronouns to talk about belonging to someone in particular.

As a rule, the use of nouns in the possessive case does not affect the form of possessive pronouns, for example:

Whose cell phone is that? - It's John's.(Russian. Whose phone is this? - Jonah.)

Who do these computers belong to? - They "re our parents".(Russian: Who owns these computers? – Our parents.)

The relationship of belonging or involvement of one object to another can also be indicated using the possessive case ( The Possessive case). which we will talk about in our next article.

Possessive pronouns in English: video

To finally consolidate the acquired knowledge, we recommend that you watch a video about possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns.

English Grammar Lessons - Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns

In conclusion:

In this article, we tried to explain as simply as possible the use of possessive pronouns in English and how to correctly answer the question “whose” in English.

We hope that after reading our article, you will no longer have any questions on this topic and you will be able to use this grammar correctly in your speech and writing.

Stay on our site and you will discover a lot from the world of English grammar!

Exercises on possessive pronouns

Now we invite you to test your knowledge of possessive pronouns in English by completing the following test.

Choose the correct option (insert either a possessive adjective or a possessive pronoun):

Jane has already eaten her lunch, but I"m saving hers/her/my/mine until later.

She has broken hers/her/his leg.

My mobile needs to be fixed, but mine/his/our/their is working.

You/Yours/Mine/My computer is a Mac, but you/your/yours/my is a PC.

We gave them ours/mine/our/yours telephone number, and they gave us their/theirs/ours/mine.

Mine/My/Your/Your pencil is broken. Can I borrow you/yours/him/its?

Ours/Our/Your/My car is cheap, but you/your/yours/my is expensive.

You can"t have any chocolate! It"s all mine/my/our/yours!

It would seem that there is nothing simpler than the pronouns: “I, you, he, she - together the whole country,” “You have yours, and I have mine.” But how to say this in English? In today's article we will look at the basic rules for using personal and possessive pronouns in English.

Personal pronouns in English

In English, a personal pronoun is used instead of a noun that we know or have already mentioned. This allows you to avoid repetitions in speech.

This is Jim. Jim is a policeman. Jim lives in New York. - This Jim. Jim police officer. Jim lives in New York.

Agree, there is too much Jim for three sentences. This is easy to fix if we combine the two sentences into one and replace the name Jim with the pronoun he (he).

This is Jim. He is a policeman and lives in New York. - This Jim. He police officer and lives in New York.

A personal pronoun can be:

Subject pronoun
This pronoun is used in place of the subject in a sentence and denotes the one who performs the action. Subjective pronouns come before the verb and answer the questions “who?” So what?".
Object pronoun
The pronoun is used in a sentence instead of an object, that is, the action is directed to it. Object pronouns come after the verb and answer the questions “whom?/what?”, “to whom?/what?”, “whom?/what?”, “by whom?/what?”, “about whom?” / about what?".

Personal pronouns instead of subject

The table below shows personal pronouns that are used in English instead of the subject.

Now let's look at some features of these pronouns:

Pronoun I
I is always written with a capital letter.
I am a dreamer. - I dreamer.
Mom says I can do it. - Mom says that I I can do it.
If I is in a sentence next to another personal pronoun, then I is placed in second place.
She and I are best friends. - We With her best friends.
He and I played tennis together. - We With him played tennis.
Pronouns he, she and it
The pronouns he and she are used to refer to people. And to denote inanimate objects, phenomena and animals, the pronoun it is used.
You know Jane. She is kind and modest. - You know Jane. She kind and modest.
Did you see the new building yesterday? It is big. - Did you see the new building yesterday? It big.
And if you treat your pet as a member of the family, when talking about him, you can use he or she rather than it.
Your dog doesn't like me. It barks at me.
- My dog never barks at people. He's a good boy.
- Your dog doesn't love me. He barks at me.
- My dog never barks at people. He good boy.
The pronoun it is also used in impersonal sentences(in which there is no character) to describe weather, time, distance, etc.
It's a quarter to nine. - It's fifteen minutes to nine now.
It's foggy outside. - It's foggy outside.
It's three kilometers between the villages. - The distance between the villages is three kilometers.
Pronoun you
You is translated as "you", "you" or "you" depending on the context, but agrees with the plural verb.
You look good in this dress. - You you look good in this dress.
You all are beautiful. - You everyone is beautiful.
Mrs. Walmer, I think you will be a good nurse. - Mrs. Walmer, I think You you will be a good nurse.

Personal pronouns instead of objects

In the table we present personal pronouns that are used instead of an object and appear in a sentence after the verb.

Personal pronouns
Singular	Plural
me (me, me, me, about me)	us (us, us, us, about us)
you (you, you, by you, about you)	you (you, to you, by you, about you)
him, her, it (his/her, him/her, im/her, about him/her)	them (their, them, them, about them)

Let's look at examples:

He will help me tomorrow. - He will help to me Tomorrow.
He told us the story. - He told us this story.

We also use these pronouns after the prepositions about, on, in, with, for and others.

Stay with us. - Stay with us.
I am doing this for her. - I do it for her.

You can fix the topic and take tests in our articles “Personal pronouns in the English language” and “”.

Possessive adjectives and pronouns in English

In English there are two possessive forms:

Possessive adjectives
Possessive pronouns

Both forms denote that something belongs to someone and answer the question “whose?/whose?/whose?/whose?”

Although this article is about pronouns, we will also cover adjectives so you don't get them confused.

Personal pronouns	Possessive adjectives	Possessive pronouns
I	my (my)	mine (my)
he	his (him)	his (him)
she	her (her)	hers (her)
it	its (his/her)	its (his/her)
we	our (our)	ours (our)
you	your (yours/yours)	yours (yours/yours)
they	their	theirs (theirs)

So what is the difference between a possessive adjective and a pronoun? A possessive adjective in English always comes before a noun and characterizes it.

This is my cup. - This my cup.
His phone is on the table. - His phone lies on the table.
Your music is annoying. - Your music annoys.

A possessive pronoun does not characterize a noun, but replaces the construction “possessive adjective + noun”. Most often, such pronouns appear at the end of a sentence.

Are those shoes mine? - Those shoes my?
It's their dog, and that is ours. - This is their dog, and this is - our.
My dress is prettier than yours. - My dress is more beautiful yours.
Her cake was better than theirs. - Her cake was tastier than their.

We can also use a possessive pronoun after a noun with the preposition of.

This is Ross. He is a friend of me my mine. - This is Ross. He my Friend.

Also, possessive adjectives and pronouns have other features that should be remembered:

In English there is no pronoun corresponding to the Russian “svoy”. Therefore, we translate it according to the context using possessive adjectives or pronouns.
I'll take my(possessive adjective) bag and you take yours(possessive pronoun). - I'll take it my (mine) bag, and you take it my (yours).
The possessive adjective and the possessive pronoun its are written without an apostrophe. If you meet it's, then this is an abbreviation grammatical form: it’s = it + is.
The cat played with its(possessive adjective) toy. - The cat was playing with his a toy.
Formally, its exists as a possessive pronoun, but its use is avoided. It is used only with the pronoun own - its own (own, own).
Each district of the city has the charm of its own(possessive pronoun). - Every district of the city has your own charm.

We have also collected for you the personal and possessive pronouns of the English language in one diagram for clarity. You can use it as a cheat sheet.

We invite you to watch a funny video from the Looney Tunes cartoon series. In this episode you will see how desperately the drake Daffy Duck tries to get hunter Elmer Fudd to shoot Bugs Bunny the rabbit. But Daffy has one problem - he gets confused about pronouns.

Try taking a short test on the use of personal and possessive pronouns in English.

Test on the topic “Personal and possessive pronouns in English”

We hope that our article helped you understand the features of the correct use of personal and possessive pronouns in English. If you want to practice the rules you have learned using examples that you understand, go to one of them.

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?)

Personal pronouns Personal Pronouns	Possessive adjectives Possessive Adjectives	Possessive pronouns Possessive Pronouns
I	my	mine
You	your	yours
He	his	his
She	her	hers
It	its	-
We	our	ours
You	your	yours
They	their	theirs

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 is reading 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'll 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 also 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 the definite article should be used 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" talking about a 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" associated with one funny 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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The English language is such that sometimes you encounter the most unexpected difficulties where you did not expect any obstacles. My book, that bike is mine...How to say? But these two similar sentences require different possessive pronouns - my and mine. Which pronoun is for which phrase? Let's figure it out.

Definition

My– possessive pronoun-adjective of the attached, or main, form.

Mine– possessive pronoun-noun of absolute form.

Translation of both words – mine/mine/my/mine

Comparison

In fact, to understand the difference in their use, it is enough to take a closer look at the definitions given above. What does an attached form mean? The fact that this pronoun requires another word, namely a noun, the affiliation of which it denotes. Why is the pronoun an adjective? Because it is in this function that it acts for a noun: it is my book - this is my book. “My” in this sentence functions as a definition for the word “book”.

And pay attention to the fact that pronouns of the attached form always appear in the following conjunction: first the pronoun, immediately followed by a noun. To enhance the emphasis on belonging, it is permissible to insert the word own between them: it is my own book - this is my own book.

Accordingly, the absolute form is a form that does not require any additions and does not tolerate anyone or anything next to it. To cope with your responsibilities alone, such a pronoun plays the role of a noun: that bycicle is mine - that bike is mine. “My” here behaves as a completely independent word. Mine can function as both a subject and an object or a nominal part of a predicate.

Conclusions website

My is a possessive pronoun of the attached form, while mine is of the absolute form.
My is used strictly together with a noun, the affiliation of which this word determines, and the pronoun in the connective comes first. The word own between my and the noun enhances the emphasis of belonging.
Mine acts as a noun and does not require a pair.