1. Two roles for the same meaning
A possessive word can belong to a noun phrase: my notebook, my red notebook. Or it can replace the phrase when the object is already understood: It’s mine.
These are not two different meanings: both forms express the same possession. The difference is whether we name the noun again.
I found a red pen on the floor. Is it yours?
I found a red pen on the floor. Is it yours?
Yours replaces your pen; pen is not repeated.
Please bring your notebook tomorrow.
Please bring your notebook tomorrow.
Your comes directly before notebook: this is possessive-adjective use.
2. The full list of forms
Each possessive adjective has a corresponding pronoun form: my↔mine, your↔yours, her↔hers, our↔ours, their↔theirs.
Mine, yours, hers, ours and theirs never take an apostrophe. An apostrophe before s in these forms is an error, not an alternative spelling.
adjective + noun ↔ pronoun without a noun: my↔mine, your↔yours, her↔hers, our↔ours, their↔theirs; his has the same form in both roles; its is normally used with a noun.
- noun —
- A word naming a person, thing or idea: student, book, happiness.
- adjective —
- A word describing what someone or something is like: happy, tired, interesting.
- pronoun —
- A word used instead of naming a person or thing: I, you, she, it, they.
Their new flat has two bedrooms.
Their new flat has two bedrooms.
Their precedes the phrase new flat; the adjective new appears between the possessive and the noun.
Is this pen yours? — No, it's theirs.
Is this pen yours? — No, it's theirs.
Theirs stands alone in the short answer, without pen.
3. Word order: the adjective belongs with the noun
My, your and similar words precede the noun and its modifiers: my new shoes, not new my shoes. An adjective can therefore appear between my and the noun.
Mine, yours and similar forms replace the noun phrase themselves: This bag is mine; Mine is blue; I’ll take yours. His can appear with a noun or on its own.
My new shoes are still in the box.
My new shoes are still in the box.
My comes directly before new shoes; the modifier new does not change this position.
The blue folder on the desk is mine.
The blue folder on the desk is mine.
Mine appears at the end of the sentence after is, with no noun following it.
4. Special forms: his and its
His is the only word in this list that stays the same between roles: his car, an adjective, and it’s his, a pronoun, look identical. Its role depends on whether a noun follows.
In an ordinary short answer about a thing, do not use standalone its on the model of It’s mine. Normally retain the noun: its leaves. A separate fixed expression is of its own, as in a life of its own.
His car broke down again. Mine is still working, but his needs a new battery.
His car broke down again. Mine is still working, but his needs a new battery.
The first his is an adjective before car; the last his is a pronoun without a noun, within the same passage.
The plant lost its leaves in winter.
The plant lost its leaves in winter.
Its precedes leaves and expresses the relationship between the leaves and the plant.
5. Changing between adjective and pronoun
The same fact can be expressed both ways: start with a possessive adjective and noun, or move the noun into the subject and end with a possessive pronoun.
This change preserves the meaning — the owner and object — while changing the grammatical form and word positions.
This is her tablet, so this tablet is hers.
This is her tablet, so this tablet is hers.
Both clauses express the same fact: first with an adjective before tablet, then with a pronoun at the end.
That coat belongs to us, so that coat is ours.
That coat belongs to us, so that coat is ours.
Ours ends the clause without coat following it.
6. Short answers about possession
In conversation, a possessive pronoun often occurs in a short reply to a question or statement about ownership. The other person has already named the noun, so there is no need to repeat it.
Short answers are among the most common natural contexts in which a pronoun form is more appropriate than an adjective form.
Are these your keys? — No, they're his.
Are these your keys? — No, they're his.
His stands alone in the short answer, without keys.
This isn't our table — I think it's theirs.
This isn't our table — I think it's theirs.
Theirs ends the clause after is, without table.
7. The scope of this topic
The complete set of forms and their basic meanings — mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs as an independent list — belongs to the neighbouring rule on possessive pronouns. Here we use them specifically in contrast with possessive adjectives.
Questions with whose, such as Whose bag is this?, have their own rule and are not a learning target here; they can appear only as background in examples. Noun possessives with ’s, such as Ihor’s bag, are another grammatical topic outside this rule.
This seat is mine, not yours.
This seat is mine, not yours.
Here we use mine/yours; learning the set of forms itself belongs to the neighbouring rule.
That's an interesting question, but I won't ask whose bag it is — I already know it's mine.
That's an interesting question, but I won't ask whose bag it is — I already know it's mine.
The whose question is merely mentioned in the example; forming such questions is a separate topic.
Common mistakes
Incorrect:This is mine calculator.
Correct:This is my calculator.
The possessive pronoun mine cannot directly precede a noun in this pattern. When a noun follows, use the possessive adjective my.
Incorrect:Is this bag your?
Correct:Is this bag yours?
The possessive adjective your cannot stand alone at the end here. Without a noun, use the pronoun yours.
Incorrect:That phone is her's.
Correct:That phone is hers.
Possessive pronouns take no apostrophe; hers already expresses possession.
Incorrect:This raincoat is our's, not their's.
Correct:This raincoat is ours, not theirs.
The same apostrophe mistake occurs twice: ours and theirs are complete pronoun forms without apostrophes.
Incorrect:The cat licked its' paw.
Correct:The cat licked its paw.
The possessive adjective its has no apostrophe; it’s with an apostrophe means it is or it has, a different form.
Incorrect:He said that the keys are him.
Correct:He said that the keys are his.
After be, express ownership with the possessive pronoun his, not the object pronoun him.