Possessive adjectives are essential for indicating ownership or belonging, and establishing relationships between people and objects in language. They help us clarify who something belongs to, making our communication more precise and understandable in both spoken and written language, facilitating clear expression of ideas. Possessive adjectives are crucial for building correct sentence structure and conveying ownership in various contexts, from everyday conversations to formal writing.
List of possessive adjectives
- My : indicate something belongs to the speaker
My book is on the table.
- Your : indicate something belongs to the person being spoken to (singular and plural)
Your phone is ringing.
- His : indicate something belongs to a male.
His car is blue.
- Her : indicate something belongs to a female.
Her dress is beautiful.
- Its : indicate something belongs to a non-human object or animal.
Its color is bright.
- Our : indicate something belongs to the speaker and at least one other person.
Our house is big.
- Their : indicate something belongs to multiple people.
Their dog is cute.
Subject pronouns / Possessive adjectives
Subject pronouns serve as the subject of a sentence, while possessive adjectives modify nouns to show ownership.
| subject pronoun | possessive adjective |
|---|---|
| I | My |
| You | Your |
| He | His |
| She | Her |
| It | Its |
| We | Our |
| They | Their |
Why we use possessive adjectives
- Show ownership: Possessive adjectives show who owns or is associated with a particular noun.
this is my book
- Clarify relationships: They help clarify the relationship between people and objects.
she is my sister
- Express feelings: They enable speakers to express personal feelings and connections to items or people.
I enjoy our family vacations
- Enhancing Communication: Using possessive adjectives allows speakers to convey information succinctly.
I love his artwork
Examples of possessive adjectives
- This is my favorite movie.
- Is this your dress ?
- she forgot her keys at home.
- Their presentation was impressive.
- Our teacher gave us homework.
- The cat licked its paws.
- His ideas were innovative.
- Their team won the championship.
- The tree lost its leaves in autumn.
- I will finish my project today.
- Where is her office located ?
- Our plans have changed.
- Is this your favorite restaurant?
- His car is parked outside.
- my brother is coming to visit.
