POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS vs. ADJECTIVES

Pronouns are a big issue in the English language. They are very problematic for all languages; thus, I recommend you to read the post dedicated to this English issue within this same blog.

Nevertheless, in the picture below, you can perfectly understand the usage of possessive pronouns which are pronouns that show that something belongs to someone.

Nonetheless, the possessive adjectives are my, your, his, her, its, our, your and their. However, there's also an 'independent' form of each of these pronouns; mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, yours and theirs; which are the ones illustrated in the picture above. Finally, it is also important to mention that possessive pronouns are never spelled with apostrophes.

Have a look at the following picture in order to better understand the difference between possessive adjectives and pronouns.

On the one hand, possessive adjectives are always followed by a noun, as perfectly depicted below. What is more, repeting the noun makes the sentence sound more repetitive.

• This book is my book, not your book.

On the other hand, possessive pronouns always substitute a noun, and thus, no noun appears, as illustrated beneath. This sentence sounds more natural since the noun is avoided.

• This book is mine, not yours.