Possessive Adjectives

Adjectives are those words which describe nouns or pronouns. Possessive Adjectives are one among seven types of Adjectives.

The words possess in Possessive means to indicate ownership, therefore Possessive Adjectives can be understood as those Adjectives which express ownership or possession. Possessive Adjectives modify the nouns following them in order to show possession/ownership.

Examples of Possessive Adjectives

All the Possessive Adjectives for different forms of subjects are given below with examples.

• My
• Our
• Your(Singular)
• Your(Plural)
• His
• Her
• Its
• Their
• Whose

Adjective	Subject	Person	Gender	Singular/Plural	Examples
My	I	First Person	both male and female	Singular	He is my brother. Those are my books. Are you my friend? That is my classroom. Is that my laptop?
Our	we	First Person	both male and female	Plural	Our laptops are new. Our siblings are abroad. Our efforts have been wasted. Our mothers are going to shopping next Saturday. Our maids are on holiday.
Your(Singular)	you	Second Person	both male and female	Singular	He is your fiancé. My sister likes your accent. I am in love with your voice. Do you like your manners? I am not your servant.
Your(Plural)	you	Second Person	both male and female	Plural	Your children are obedient. Your friends are very helpful. Your plans are stupid. Your choices are fabulous. Your teachers are caring. Your parents are helpful.
His	he	Third Person	only male	Singular	His house is in Ireland. His father is a businessman. His brother is a pilot. His name is Harry. His aim is to be an actor.
Her	she	Third Person	only female	Singular	Her hobby is to collect stamps. Her name is Mattie. Her aim is to be a marine. Her favorite snack is Pizza. Her friends are helpful.
Its	it	Third Person	animals and non-living things(neuter)	Singular	The cat is moving its tail. The dog is wagging its tail happily. The wooden bed has its own drawers. The rabbit is flapping its ears. The dog is playing with its puppies.
Their	they	Third Person	male, female and neuter	Plural	The people welcomed their leaders. The teenage girls hugged their boyfriends. My parents went to leave their friends at airport. The kittens jumped with joy seeing their mother. Teachers and their students went to the Art Festival. Kids called their parents to pick them up from fare.
Whose	who	Third Person	both male and female	Plural	Whose parents are they? Whose plan are we looking forward to? Whose room are you using? Whose fault is he talking about? Whose success is she referring to? Whose headphones did you borrow?

Be Careful

1. Possessive forms of Subjects like ‘it’ is often confused with It’s. It’s is a contraction of it is. Contraction is reduction in size.
2. Do not get confused, Possessive Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives are completely different. Possessive Pronouns replace nouns whereas Possessive Adjectives show ownership.