Possessive adjectives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their

In English, use my phone, my bag, and my keys: my does not change according to the gender or number of the following noun. The same applies to the other six forms, even if possessive words change to agree with nouns in another language.

Choose his or her according to the person you are referring to, not the grammatical gender a word such as phone, bag, or sister may have in another language. If the bag belongs to someone identified as he, it is his bag; if the phone belongs to someone identified as she, it is her phone.

Your works the same when addressing one person or several. Context establishes the number of people addressed. The noun shows the number of things: your ticket or your tickets.

A possessive introduces a noun phrase. A description can come between it and the noun: my new book, their small kitchen. Before the noun therefore does not necessarily mean directly beside it.

In an ordinary noun phrase, do not add a, an, or the to my, your, or the other possessive forms: my address, not the my address. The possessive already identifies whose address it is.

My needs a noun in this construction: This is my bag. If the noun is not repeated, use a different form: This is mine. Do not place mine before bag. These independent possessive pronouns are studied separately in detail.

My name, your sister, and our school show relationships: for example, our school can be the school we attend. A possessive expresses a connection, not necessarily legal ownership. People are not someone's possessions.

Possessives are also used with body parts and personal things: my hands, her hair. Choose the form according to whose body part or object is meant: I wash my hands, you wash your hands, she washes her hands. First establish exactly whose hands are involved.

Its connects a noun with an object, place, or animal referred to as it: its door, its name, its tail. Possessive its has no apostrophe.

It’s means it is, and in another construction it can also mean it has. Here we practise the simple contrast with it is: It’s small is a statement about size; its small room is a noun phrase. It has in more complex tense forms is a separate topic.

To check the spelling, try expanding the contraction. Replacing It’s open with It is open works. In its door, replacing its with it is destroys the intended noun phrase.

Their expresses a connection with they and precedes a noun phrase: their room. They’re contracts they are: They’re ready. There can indicate a place: The room is there. It also appears in there is / there are, but those constructions are practised separately.

These words often sound the same. Sound alone cannot select the right spelling: you need meaning and sentence structure. In their new room, their is followed by a noun phrase; in they’re in the room, they are is followed by information about where people are.

The same name or object can be my for its owner and your for the person speaking to them. We answer What is your name? with My name is… because we now speak from our own perspective. Our includes the speaker in the group; their usually refers to another group already clear from context.

Do not decide on he or she solely from a name, profession, or possession. Learning tasks establish the relevant person through context. Their can also refer to one person, for example when their gender is unknown: Someone left their bag. This is not a plural-agreement error.

An animal can be referred to neutrally as it / its, while a familiar pet can be he / his or she / her. Keep the established reference clear and consistent; do not treat its as the only possible form for every animal.

Before answering, make three quick checks: who or what the noun is connected with, who is speaking now, and whether a noun follows the possessive. This lesson targets neutral standard written English. Dialect forms are not the models for these exercises.