Year 4 English: Possessive pronouns and determiners: my or mine, her or hers
Part of the Year 4 English noun phrases, pronouns and verb forms chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Possessive pronouns and determiners: my or mine, her or hers
Words that show whose something is come in two kinds.
A determiner such as my, your, his, her, its, our or their comes before a noun: my bike, her basket.
A possessive pronoun such as mine, yours, his, hers, ours or theirs stands alone. No noun follows it: The bike is mine.
The test is simple. Is a noun next? If yes, the word is a determiner. If no, it is a possessive pronoun.
| Word | Determiner (a noun follows) | Possessive pronoun (no noun follows) |
|---|---|---|
| my / mine | my bike | The bike is mine. |
| your / yours | your pen | The pen is yours. |
| his | his coat | The coat is his. |
| her / hers | her coat | The coat is hers. |
| our / ours | our house | The house is ours. |
| their / theirs | their car | The car is theirs. |
Key ideas
- A determiner such as my, your, his, her, its, our or their comes before a noun: my bike.
- A possessive pronoun such as mine, yours, his, hers, ours or theirs stands alone: The bike is mine.
- His and her can be a determiner or a possessive pronoun. Check whether a noun comes next.
- Its has no possessive pronoun form, and it never has an apostrophe.
Method. Replace the noun phrase with a pronoun that matches it.
- Find the words to replace. The noun phrase names the person or thing that the pronoun stands for.my hat
- Choose the pronoun. Mine stands alone, so no noun follows it, and it replaces my hat.mine
- Write the new sentence. The pronoun takes the place of the noun phrase, and the rest stays the same.This hat is mine.
- Write the answer. This hat is mine.
Check. Read the new sentence aloud: it means the same. ✓
Watch out. Keep the rest of the sentence the same.
Method. Name the determiner in the phrase.
- Look at each word. Find the word that does the job of a determiner.her red scarf
- Check its job. A noun, scarf, comes after it, so it comes before the noun.her
- Name it. her is the determiner.her
- Write the answer. her
Check. her does this job. ✓
Method. Check whether a noun follows the word.
- Look at the word after the bold word. A determiner comes before a noun. A possessive pronoun stands alone.his
- Decide its job. No noun comes after his, so it stands alone.pronoun
- Write the answer. pronoun
Check. his is a pronoun. ✓
Watch out. Ask: is a noun next? If yes, it is a determiner. If no, it is a pronoun.
Watch out
Watch out: its never has an apostrophe when it means belonging to it: The dog wagged its tail. It's means it is. Possessive pronouns never have an apostrophe either: hers, yours, theirs.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Hold up two things, one yours and one mine. Ask your child: is it my bag, or is the bag mine? The word before a noun is a determiner; the word that stands alone is a possessive pronoun.
Exercise 7D Practice: determiners and possessive pronouns
Method. Replace the noun phrase with a pronoun that matches it.
- Find the words to replace. The noun phrase names the person or thing that the pronoun stands for.our bike
- Choose the pronoun. Ours stands alone, and it replaces our bike.ours
- Write the new sentence. The pronoun takes the place of the noun phrase, and the rest stays the same.The blue bike is ours.
- Write the answer. The blue bike is ours.
Check. Read the new sentence aloud: it means the same. ✓
Watch out. Keep the rest of the sentence the same.
Method. Check whether a noun follows the word.
- Look at the word after the bold word. A determiner comes before a noun. A possessive pronoun stands alone.His
- Decide its job. A noun, coat, comes after it.determiner
- Write the answer. determiner
Check. His is a determiner. ✓
Watch out. Ask: is a noun next? If yes, it is a determiner. If no, it is a pronoun.
Method. Check whether a noun follows the word.
- Look at the word after the bold word. A determiner comes before a noun. A possessive pronoun stands alone.his
- Decide its job. No noun comes after it, so it stands alone.pronoun
- Write the answer. pronoun
Check. his is a pronoun. ✓
Watch out. Ask: is a noun next? If yes, it is a determiner. If no, it is a pronoun.
Method. Check whether a noun follows the word.
- Look at the word after the bold word. A determiner comes before a noun. A possessive pronoun stands alone.Their
- Decide its job. A noun, garden, comes after it.determiner
- Write the answer. determiner
Check. Their is a determiner. ✓
Watch out. Ask: is a noun next? If yes, it is a determiner. If no, it is a pronoun.
Method. Choose the word that fits the grammar and the meaning.
- Read the sentence with the gap. Decide which word the sentence needs.That is ___ coat.
- Think about the grammar and the meaning. Coat is a noun, so the word before it is a determiner: my.That is my coat.
- Check the other choice. Mine stands alone, and no noun follows it, so it does not fit before coat.That is my coat.
- Write the answer. my
Check. Read the whole sentence aloud with my in the gap. ✓
Watch out. Put each choice in the gap and read the sentence aloud.
Method. Choose the word that fits the grammar and the meaning.
- Read the sentence with the gap. Decide which word the sentence needs.The coat is ___.
- Think about the grammar and the meaning. No noun follows the gap, so the word must stand alone: mine.The coat is mine.
- Check the other choice. My needs a noun after it, and the sentence ends here.The coat is mine.
- Write the answer. mine
Check. Read the whole sentence aloud with mine in the gap. ✓
Watch out. Put each choice in the gap and read the sentence aloud.
Method. Choose the word that fits the grammar and the meaning.
- Read the sentence with the gap. Decide which word the sentence needs.The books are ___, I think.
- Think about the grammar and the meaning. No noun follows the gap, so the possessive pronoun yours is used.The books are yours, I think.
- Check the other choice. Your needs a noun after it, such as your books, but the noun is not there.The books are yours, I think.
- Write the answer. yours
Check. Read the whole sentence aloud with yours in the gap. ✓
Watch out. Put each choice in the gap and read the sentence aloud.
Method. Find the owner, then use the possessive pronoun.
- Find the owner. The pencil belongs to me, so the owner is me.belongs to me
- Choose the possessive pronoun. Mine stands alone, in place of my pencil.mine
- Write the sentence. The meaning is the same as before.This pencil is mine.
- Write the answer. This pencil is mine.
Check. The pencil is mine. ✓
Watch out. Mine stands alone: no noun follows it.
Method. Replace the noun phrase with a pronoun that matches it.
- Find the words to replace. The noun phrase names the person or thing that the pronoun stands for.their tent
- Choose the pronoun. Theirs stands alone, and it replaces their tent.theirs
- Write the new sentence. The pronoun takes the place of the noun phrase, and the rest stays the same.The big tent is theirs.
- Write the answer. The big tent is theirs.
Check. Read the new sentence aloud: it means the same. ✓
Watch out. Keep the rest of the sentence the same.
Method. Choose the word that fits the grammar and the meaning.
- Read the sentence with the gap. Decide which word the sentence needs.The dog wagged ___ tail.
- Think about the grammar and the meaning. The tail belongs to the dog, so the word is the possessive determiner its.The dog wagged its tail.
- Check the other choice. It's would mean it is, which does not fit here.The dog wagged its tail.
- Write the answer. its
Check. Read the whole sentence aloud with its in the gap. ✓
Watch out. Put each choice in the gap and read the sentence aloud.
Method. Check what comes after his in each sentence.
- Look at That hat is his. No noun follows his, so it stands alone.That hat is his.
- Compare his hat. Here his comes before the noun hat, so it is a determiner.his hat
- Write the answer. No. His is a pronoun in That hat is his, and a determiner in his hat
Check. The noun that follows decides the kind of word. ✓
Watch out. The same word can be a determiner or a pronoun. Check what comes after it.
Method. Write a determiner sentence, then a possessive pronoun sentence.
- Write the determiner. Her comes before the noun coat.Her coat is green.
- Write the possessive pronoun. Hers stands alone, with no noun after it.The green coat is hers.
- Write the answer. Her coat is green. The green coat is hers.
Check. Her has a noun after it; hers does not. ✓
Watch out. Check that her has a noun after it, and that hers does not.
Method. Use two possessive pronouns, each standing alone.
- Use mine. Mine stands alone at the end of its clause.is mine
- Use theirs. Theirs stands alone, with no noun after it.is theirs
- Write the answer. The red scooter is mine, and the blue one is theirs.
Check. Neither possessive pronoun has a noun after it. ✓
Watch out. Possessive pronouns never have an apostrophe.