Possessive pronouns and whose
Mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs, a friend of mine, and questions with whose.
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A possessive pronoun (mine, yours, hers) says who something belongs to, and it stands alone, without a noun after it: This bag is mine. To ask who the owner is, we use whose.
The words
Subject | Before a noun | Alone |
|---|---|---|
I | my bag | mine |
you | your bag | yours |
he | his bag | his |
she | her bag | hers |
we | our bag | ours |
they | their bag | theirs |
His is the same in both columns. Its is almost never used alone.
- "Is this your coat?" "No, mine is blue."
- These aren't our seats. Ours are in row F.
- My job is boring, but hers is really interesting.
Before a noun, or alone
Use my, your, her before a noun. Use mine, yours, hers when there is no noun after it.
- This is my phone. This phone is mine.
- Is that your car? Is that car yours?
- Incorrect: This is mine bag.
- Correct: This is my bag. / This bag is mine.Mine is never followed by a noun.
- Incorrect: Excuse me, is this your?
- Correct: Excuse me, is this yours?There is no noun after it, so use yours.
No apostrophe, no article
Possessive pronouns never have an apostrophe, and they don't take the.
- The decision is yours.
- Our flat is smaller than theirs.
- Incorrect: Is this pen your's?
- Correct: Is this pen yours?Yours, hers, ours and theirs are written with no apostrophe.
- Incorrect: Your car is red, and the mine is grey.
- Correct: Your car is red, and mine is grey.
A friend of mine
To say "one of my friends", English uses a friend of mine. After of in this pattern, use the possessive pronoun, not me or my.
- A friend of mine works at the hospital.
- Is Tom a colleague of yours?
- We met a neighbour of ours at the station.
- Incorrect: A friend of me lives in Berlin.
- Correct: A friend of mine lives in Berlin.After a friend of, use mine, yours, his, hers, ours or theirs.
With a name, use 's: He's a friend of Anna's. (A friend of Anna is also heard.)
Whose: who is the owner?
Use whose to ask who something belongs to. It can go before a noun, or alone before is or are.
Whose + noun | Whose alone |
|---|---|
Whose bag is this? | Whose is this bag? |
Whose keys are these? | Whose are these keys? |
- "Whose coat is this?" "It's mine."
- "Whose are these glasses?" "I think they're Sam's."
- Incorrect: Whose this phone?
- Correct: Whose phone is this?The question needs is: whose + noun + is + this.
Whose or who's
Whose and who's sound the same. Who's is the short form of who is or who has.
- Whose turn is it?
(Which person has the turn?)
- Who's next?
(Who is next?)
- Incorrect: Who's umbrella is this?
- Correct: Whose umbrella is this?Here we ask about the owner, so we write whose.
Answering: mine, yours, Anna's
Answer a question with whose with a possessive pronoun or with a name + 's.
- "Whose is this sandwich?" "It's his."
- "Whose idea was it?" "Ours."
- "Whose car is outside?" "It's my sister's."