Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns express possession or association without repeating the noun phrase: “That book is mine.” They should be distinguished from possessive determiners such as “my,” “your,” and “their,” which normally modify a following noun.
Possessive pronouns such as “mine,” “yours,” “hers,” “ours,” and “theirs” can stand in place of a noun phrase. They differ from possessive determiners such as “my” and “your,” which normally come before a noun.
Key details
Important caveats
Scope Boundary
Standard possessive pronouns do not take an apostrophe merely to mark possession; forms such as “your’s” and “their’s” are not standard.
Further guidance
Application
Distinguish “my/your/her/our/their” before nouns from standalone “mine/yours/hers/ours/theirs.”
Core Rule
Use a possessive pronoun when the possessive form stands on its own or replaces a noun phrase: “The seat is yours.”
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Pronouns: possessive (my, mine, your, yours, etc.) — Cambridge Grammar (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Cambridge Grammar evidence distinguishing possessive pronouns such as “mine” from possessive determiners such as “my.”