Examples of possessive pronouns in English. Absolute form of possessive pronouns in English: usage, examples. Personal pronouns instead of subject

Possessive pronouns in English, these are pronouns indicating the identity of objects or persons. Possessive pronouns are divided into two types:

• Possessive pronouns-adjectives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their,
• Possessive pronouns-nouns: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs.

There are other names for these types, for example, possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns; in English they are called possessive determiners and possessive pronuous.

Table: possessive pronouns-adjectives

Possessive pronouns-adjectives indicate that something belongs to a person. They belong to the so-called noun determiners - words that clarify the meaning.

Example sentences:

This is my house. - This is my home.

I know your name. - I know your (your) name.

That is his dog. - This is his dog.

What is her name? - What is her name? (lit.: what's her name?)

Our town is small. – Our city is small.

He is your teacher. - He is your teacher.

This is their choice. - This is their choice.

Features of possessive pronouns

Possessive adjective pronouns have several features.

1. In English, possessive pronouns are used more often than in Russian: ownership is indicated where in Russian it is only implied.

He looked at his watch. – He looked at his wristwatch.

I am walking my dog. - I'm walking the dog.

2. In English there is no analogue of the pronoun “your”; its role is played by one of the possessive pronouns-adjectives.

He knows his trade. - He knows yours craft.

I forgot my password. - I forgot mine password.

3. A possessive pronoun cannot be used with - either an article or a pronoun.

• Maybe: 1) I walked my dog 2) I walked the\a dog.
• Impossible: I walked the\a my dog.

4. Don’t confuse its and it’s

Its is the possessive pronoun “his” (in relation to an inanimate object or animal), and it’s is short for “it is”. This error, by the way, occurs among native speakers.

Table: possessive pronouns-nouns

Possessive noun pronouns replace a noun in a sentence indicating ownership, usually to avoid repetition.

For example:

– Is it your suitcase? - This is your suitcase.

– Yes, it’s my suitcase mine. - Yes, mine.

The pronoun “mine” replaces “my suitcase”.

All possessive pronouns-nouns are given in this table:

Difference between My and Mine, Your and Yours, etc.

The difference between the two types of possessive pronouns may not be understood due to the fact that in Russian my And mine translated the same way - “mine”. In fact, the functions of these pronouns are completely different.

• Pronouns-adjectives are used as noun determiners - this is their only possible role.

This is my boat. - This is my boat.

Here is your passport. - Here is your passport.

• Pronouns-nouns are never used as noun modifiers. They are used like a noun - as a nominal part of a compound nominal predicate.

Let me remind you that a compound nominal consists of the linking verb to be +

We use pronouns to replace nouns in a sentence. Look at the word “pronoun” itself; it contains the main function of this part of speech: “ substitute", that is " instead of a noun" Pronouns are used to diversify speech and not repeat the same word from sentence to sentence.

There are several types of pronouns in English: , and possessive. We paid special attention to each type of pronoun in a separate article.

Let's see how a native speaker teacher Alex talks about words that show that someone owns something.

When we want to say that someone owns something, we use possessive forms. As you can see, Alex identified two forms: Possessive Adjectives And Possessive Pronouns.

Possessive adjectives

Let's start looking at possessive forms with possessive adjectives. Abroad these words are called Possessive Adjectives. Such words show a sign of an object, phenomenon or person, therefore they are classified as adjectives and not pronouns:

• My book. - My book. (what book? – mine)
• His friend. - His friend. (what friend? – his)

In Russian textbooks on English grammar it is written that my (your, his etc.) is a pronoun, but native English teachers insist that it is still an adjective, because it comes before a noun and defines it. Let's look at the sign:

My cat likes to play with a ball. – My the cat loves to play with the ball.

She wants to talk to your manager - She wants to talk to yours manager.

The teacher found his mistakes. - The teacher found his errors.

I like her dress. - I like her dress.

Our family likes to rest in Crimea, we adore its nature. – Our family loves to relax in Crimea, we adore his nature.

They look after our children. - They look after our children.

He is speaking with their mother - He's talking to their mom.

Please note: in all examples after my (his, their) goes a noun.

In the Russian language there is a universal word “svoy”, which we simply change according to numbers and persons. In English, the words “our”, “ours”, “ours” should be translated as “my”, “ours”, “his”/“hers”, respectively.

She cut mine finger. – She cut her finger.

I love my mom. – I love my mother

Do my work. – Do your work.

Possessive pronouns

If you need to replace a noun in a sentence, you must use one of the possessive pronouns. Usually the noun is replaced so that there is no repetition in the sentence.

• This is not my pen, mine is purple. – This is not my pen, my purple one (replaced my pen on mine).

Becky! That is mine! - This my, Becky!

My task is easier than yours. - My task is easier than your.

This is not his car, his is blue. - This is not his car. his– blue.

This is a friend of hers. - This her Friend.

It is not their house, theirs is bigger. - This is not their home their more.

The general rule for all possessive pronouns is that there is no need to use a noun after them, and, as a rule, it comes at the end of the sentence. And look at this couple: a friend of mine And my friend. Both phrases mean the same thing - my friend, only after a preposition of use possessive pronouns rather than adjectives ( a friend of mine).

In English, as in Russian, there are words that indicate that an object belongs to a person and answer the question Whose? (whose?): mine, yours, yours, ours, his, her, theirs / my, your, our, his, her, its, their. In Russian these words are called possessive pronouns. In English, both pronouns and adjectives (mine, yours, etc.) are possessive. Unfortunately, many people often confuse my and mine. The clear and detailed explanation that follows will help you sort out this confusion and clearly understand which word to use.

Possessive adjectives in English are used in speech only in combination with nouns. The main function of any adjective is to describe a noun. The place of a possessive adjective is usually before the noun.

• This is my car. - This is my car.
• This is your dress. - This is your dress.
• This is his pen. - This is his pen.
• This is her desk. - This is her table.
• This is our flat. - This is our apartment.
• This is their pictures. - These are their drawings.

Possessive Pronouns are used when it is necessary to replace a noun. In most cases, this is done to avoid recurrence.

• This car is mine. - This car is mine.
• This dress is yours. - This dress is yours.
• This pen is his. - This pen is yours.
• This is not her bag. - This is not her bag. / Hers is red. - Hers is red. (hers = her bag).
• I've got a parrot. Its cage is not big. - I have a parrot. His cage is not big.
• This flat is ours. - This is our apartment.
• This is not their style. - This is not their style. / Theirs is much more original. - They are much more original. (theirs = their style).

*Attention! Write the possessive pronoun its without an apostrophe. An apostrophe (it"s) is used only when abbreviating the phrase it is.

Possessive Adjectives: features of use

If in a sentence there is another descriptive adjective before the noun, then the possessive is written before it, but after words such as all (all) and both (both, both).

• Jane is my best friend. — Jane is my best friend.
• They are reading their new magazine. — They are reading their new magazine.
• All my colleagues are here. — All my colleagues are here.
• Both her parents are medicines. Both of his parents are doctors.

A possessive adjective before a noun eliminates the need for an article.

• He took his book and left. — He took his book and left.
• The children are playing with their new toy. — The children are playing with their new toy.

"Own" in English

There is no pronoun “your” in English, so when translating it is replaced by one of the possessive adjectives my, your, his, her, its, our, their (according to the person and number of the subject).

• I love my dead. - I love my dad.
• She is washing her car. — She is washing her car.
• We adore our children. - We adore our children.

English possessive adjectives used in combination with nouns, which denote parts of the body, personal belongings and items of clothing, are usually omitted during translation.

• She usually dyes her hair every month. — She usually dyes her hair every month.
• Every morning I clean my teeth. — Every morning I brush my teeth.
• He has broken his arm. — He broke his arm.
• Put on your hat, please. It's rather windy today. - Put on your hat, please. It's quite windy outside today.

Article the instead of Possessive Adjectives

There are two rules that are useful for intermediate and above students to know. There are cases when before nouns denoting parts of the body, they use not a possessive adjective, but the definite article the.

This is possible when:

1) the noun refers to the complement (object), and not the subject (subject), that is, not to the performer of the action, but to the one to whom the action is directed.

• The woman patted the child on the head. — The woman stroked the child’s head.

2) if the sentence talks about pain, damage or blows. Here prepositions (in, on) are combined with verbs such as:

• hit - to hit, hit;
• punch - to hit with a fist;
• bite - bite;
• pat - clap;
• slap - clap, slap;
• sting - to sting.

• An old woman has a pain in the leg. — The old woman’s leg hurts.
• A strange insect stung me in the arm. — a strange insect stung me on the hand.

Constructions of your own / on your own

After possessive adjectives, the word own is sometimes used, reinforcing the meaning of belonging.

• It was his own project. - It was his own project(that is, it was he who developed this project, and no one else).
• She saw it with her own eyes. - She saw it with her own eyes (that is, she saw it herself).
• This is our own house. - This is ours own house(that is, this house belongs exclusively to us).

The construction of (your) own (of + possessive adjective + own) is used in the same meaning.

• I need a computer of my own. — I need my own computer (I don’t want to share it with anyone).
• They have three small children of their own. - They have three small children of their own (that is, they have their own small children, so, for example, they cannot look after their friend’s children).

When translated, the expression on (your) own can have two meanings:

• alone, alone:

Margaret lives on her own. Margaret lives alone.

She often likes being on her own. — She often likes to be alone.

• independently, without outside help:

We did it on our own. - We did it ourselves.

I can make salad on my own. — I can make the salad myself.

It would seem that there is nothing simpler pronouns: “I, you, he, she are the whole country together,” “You have what’s yours, and I have what’s mine.” But how to say this in English? In today's article we will look at the basic rules for using personal and possessive pronouns in English.

Personal pronouns in English

In English, a personal pronoun is used instead of a noun that we know or have already mentioned. This allows you to avoid repetitions in speech.

This is Jim. Jim is a policeman. Jim lives in New York. - This Jim. Jim police officer. Jim lives in New York.

Agree, there is too much Jim for three sentences. This is easy to fix if we combine the two sentences into one and replace the name Jim with the pronoun he (he).

This is Jim. He is a policeman and lives in New York. - This Jim. He police officer and lives in New York.

A personal pronoun can be:

1. Subject pronoun

   This pronoun is used in place of the subject in a sentence and denotes the one who performs the action. Subjective pronouns come before the verb and answer the questions “who?” So what?".

2. Object pronoun

   The pronoun is used in a sentence instead of an object, that is, the action is directed to it. Object pronouns come after the verb and answer the questions “whom?/what?”, “to whom?/what?”, “whom?/what?”, “by whom?/what?”, “about whom?” / about what?".

Personal pronouns instead of subject

The table below shows personal pronouns that are used in English instead of the subject.

Now let's look at some features of these pronouns:

• Pronoun I

  I is always written with a capital letter.

  I am a dreamer. - I dreamer.
  Mom says I can do it. - Mom says that I I can do it.

  If I is in a sentence next to another personal pronoun, then I is placed in second place.

  She and I are best friends. - We With her best friends.
  He and I played tennis together. - We With him played tennis.

• Pronouns he, she and it

  The pronouns he and she are used to refer to people. And to denote inanimate objects, phenomena and animals, the pronoun it is used.

  You know Jane. She is kind and modest. - You know Jane. She kind and modest.
  Did you see the new building yesterday? It is big. - Did you see the new building yesterday? It big.

  And if you treat your pet as a member of the family, when talking about him, you can use he or she rather than it.

  Your dog doesn't like me. It barks at me.
  - My dog ​​never barks at people. He's a good boy.
  - Your dog doesn't love me. He barks at me.
  - My dog ​​never barks at people. He good boy.

  The pronoun it is also used in impersonal sentences (in which there is no character) to describe weather, time, distance, etc.

  It's a quarter to nine. - It's fifteen minutes to nine now.
  It's foggy outside. - It's foggy outside.
  It's three kilometers between the villages. - The distance between the villages is three kilometers.

• Pronoun you

  You is translated as "you", "you" or "you" depending on the context, but agrees with the plural verb.

  You look good in this dress. - You you look good in this dress.
  You all are beautiful. - You everyone is beautiful.
  Mrs. Walmer, I think you will be a good nurse. - Mrs. Walmer, I think You you will be a good nurse.

Personal pronouns instead of objects

In the table we present personal pronouns that are used instead of an object and appear in a sentence after the verb.

Let's look at examples:

He will help me tomorrow. - He will help to me Tomorrow.
He told us the story. - He said us this story.

We also use these pronouns after the prepositions about, on, in, with, for and others.

Stay with us. - Stay with us.
I am doing this for her. - I'm doing it for her.

You can fix the topic and take tests in our articles “Personal pronouns in the English language” and “”.

Possessive adjectives and pronouns in English

In English there are two possessive forms:

1. Possessive adjectives
2. Possessive pronouns

Both forms denote that something belongs to someone and answer the question “whose?/whose?/whose?/whose?”

Although this article is about pronouns, we will also cover adjectives so you don't get them confused.

So what is the difference between a possessive adjective and a pronoun? A possessive adjective in English always comes before a noun and characterizes it.

This is my cup. - This my cup.
His phone is on the table. - His phone lies on the table.
Your music is annoying. - Your music annoys.

A possessive pronoun does not characterize a noun, but replaces the construction “possessive adjective + noun”. Most often, such pronouns appear at the end of a sentence.

Are those shoes mine? - Those shoes my?
It's their dog, and that is ours. - This is their dog, and this is - our.
My dress is prettier than yours. - My dress is more beautiful yours.
Her cake was better than theirs. - Her cake was tastier than their.

We can also use a possessive pronoun after a noun with the preposition of.

This is Ross. He is a friend of me my mine. - This is Ross. He my Friend.

Also, possessive adjectives and pronouns have other features that should be remembered:

• In English there is no pronoun corresponding to the Russian “svoy”. Therefore, we translate it according to the context using possessive adjectives or pronouns.

  I'll take my(possessive adjective) bag and you take yours(possessive pronoun). - I will take my (mine) bag, and you take it my (yours).

• The possessive adjective and the possessive pronoun its are written without an apostrophe. If you meet it's, then this is a shortened grammatical form: it's = it + is.

  The cat played with its(possessive adjective) toy. - The cat was playing with his a toy.

• Formally, its exists as a possessive pronoun, but its use is avoided. It is used only with the pronoun own - its own (own, own).

  Each district of the city has the charm of its own(possessive pronoun). - Every district of the city has your own Charm.

We have also collected personal and possessive pronouns for you in English in one diagram for clarity. You can use it as a cheat sheet.

We invite you to watch a funny video from the Looney Tunes cartoon series. In this episode you will see how desperately the drake Daffy Duck tries to get hunter Elmer Fudd to shoot Bugs Bunny the rabbit. But Daffy has one problem - he gets confused about pronouns.

Try to pass small test on the use of personal and possessive pronouns in English.

Test on the topic “Personal and possessive pronouns in English”

We hope that our article helped you understand the features of the correct use of personal and possessive pronouns in English. If you want to practice the rules you have learned using examples that you understand, go to one of them.

What are possessive pronouns? These are short words expressing belonging and answering the question “Whose?” / “Whose?” They can be presented in adjunct or absolute form, which differ somewhat in their appearance and position in the sentence.

Possessive pronouns in attached form

This form is characterized by its position in front of a noun. The easiest way to remember possessive pronouns is paired with their corresponding personal pronouns based on the following simple table, understandable even for children:

Let's look at some examples of the use of possessive pronouns in the attached form. Please note that in English this type of pronoun does not change by case, gender or number, unlike the corresponding Russian pronouns. Compare pronouns in English sentences and their Russian equivalents:

*Pronoun your is not written with a capital letter in the middle of a sentence, even if it means a polite address " Your", since in English there is no separate polite form of address of this nature.

**Be careful with pronouns its , because in English it means belonging to an inanimate object or animal, since they belong to the neuter gender in English. In Russian, the category of gender can be different for animals and inanimate objects, so often in Russian its translated as both “his” and “her”. Just don’t confuse the possessive pronoun under any circumstances. its with shortened form it 's , consisting of a pronoun it and verb is.

Probably, for the attentive reader, the fact that quite often (but not always) it is convenient to translate possessive pronouns into Russian using the “ubiquitous” possessive pronoun has not gone unnoticed "mine". But in English there is no such universal pronoun. Therefore, be careful when translating from Russian into English - find the subject in each case and determine what the word “your” means in each specific case: “mine”, “his”, “their”, etc. For example:

Possessive pronouns in absolute form

In general, this subtype of possessive pronouns is both similar to the attached form and has a number of significant differences:

1) Possessive pronouns in absolute form for the most part somewhat longer the first subspecies, but not all of them. Most of these pronouns are formed from their relatives in the adjunctive form by adding -s, but not all of them either. Moreover, the meaning of pronouns in the absolute form is the same as that of their counterparts in the attached form. Let's compare:

2) The absolute form of the possessive pronoun is used when a qualifying noun is not placed after it. For example:

We note that the absolute form of possessive pronouns is no longer translated by the pronoun “our”.

3) The absolute form of possessive pronouns is also characterized by use in stable expressions, for example a friend of mine , where the defined noun stands before the pronoun in absolute form and is connected to it by a preposition of . This verbal turn usually imparts uncertainty to the expression, that is, it means one of the friends, some of the friends. Judge for yourself:

In general, we can briefly define the difference in the use of the adjunct and absolute forms with a short rule that is understandable even to a child: The “short” form is used BEFORE a NOUN, and the “long” form is used WITHOUT A NOUN.

We hope that now choosing the correct possessive pronoun will not present any difficulties for you.