What possessive pronouns are

“The stuffed toy is his.”

Possessive pronouns are words that show ownership. They indicate that something belongs to someone. Essentially, possessive pronouns help us talk about ownership in a concise way. 

What they do

• They replace noun phrases to avoid repetition.  
• They clearly indicate who or what owns something.  

Examples

• hers  
  • Indicates possession by “she” (e.g., “The house is hers“).
• his  
  • Indicates possession by “he” (e.g., “The car is his“).
• its
  • Shows possession by “it” (e.g., “The dog wagged its tail”).
• mine  
  • Replaces a noun to show something belongs to “me” (e.g., “That book is mine” = “That book belongs to me”).
• ours  
  • Shows something belongs to “us” (e.g., “The victory is ours“).
• theirs
  • Shows something belongs to “them” (e.g., “The fault is theirs“).
• yours  
  • Shows something belongs to “you” (e.g., “Is this pen yours?”).
• whose
  • “Whose” is a bit different—it’s a possessive pronoun, but it works as an interrogative (question-word) or relative pronoun rather than a standalone replacement like “mine” or “yours.” It’s used to ask about or indicate ownership, and it doesn’t change form based on singular/plural or gender. Example: “Whose jacket is this?” (Who does this jacket belong to?)

Key difference from possessive determiners

• Possessive pronouns stand alone (e.g., “That book is mine.”).  
• Possessive determiners modify nouns (e.g., “That is my book.”).  

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