What Are Possessive Adjectives?

Possessive Adjectives (Determiners)

The possessive adjectives are my, your, his, her, its, our, their, and whose. A possessive adjective sits before a noun (or a pronoun) to show who or what owns it.

NB: Since the 1960s, possessive adjectives are increasingly called “possessive determiners.” Both terms are still in common use. “Possessive adjective” is currently about twice as popular as “possessive determiner.”

Easy Examples of Possessive Adjectives

In the examples below, the possessive adjectives are shaded.

She likes your hat.

(The possessive adjective your sits before the noun hat to tell us who owns it.)

I think her dog has eaten my gerbil.
(The possessive adjectives her and my are sitting before (or modifying as it’s called) the nouns dog and gerbil to tell us who owns them.)

Real-Life Examples of Possessive Adjectives

In the examples below, the possessive adjectives are italicised and the nouns being modified are bold. The table also shows how each possessive adjective corresponds to a personal pronoun.

Personal Pronoun	Possessive Adjective	Example
I	my	I do not choose that my grave should be dug while I am still alive. (Queen Elizabeth I)
you	your	If you want peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies. (South African cleric Desmond Tutu)
he	his	If a man could have half of his wishes, he would double his troubles. (Founding Father Benjamin Franklin)
she	her	She got her looks from her father. He’s a plastic surgeon. (Comedian Groucho Marx)
it	its	Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow. It only saps today of its joy. (Author Leo Buscaglia)
we	our	How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. (Author Annie Dillard)
they	their	Men are like steel. When they lose their temper, they lose their worth. (Martial artist Chuck Norris)
who	whose	The key is to keep company only with people whose presence calls forth your best. (Greek philosopher Epictetus)

More about Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives are classified as a type of pronoun. Look at this example:

Is that the Queen’s hat?
No, it’s her crown.
(In this example, the possessive adjective her replaces the noun the Queen.)

This example proves that possessive adjectives function like pronouns. (Grammarians say they have “a pronominal function.”) As normal adjectives (e.g., big, yellow, funny) don’t replace nouns, some grammarians don’t classify possessive adjectives as adjectives at all but as determiners.

You may find it helpful to group possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns (e.g., mine, yours, hers) under the term possessive form. This helps to differentiate between possessive adjectives (e.g., my, your) and possessive pronouns (e.g., mine, yours).

Here is a list of personal pronouns with their corresponding possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns, i.e., their possessive forms.

———	Possessive Form	Possessive Form
Personal Pronoun	Possessive Adjective	Possessive Pronoun
I	my	mine
you	your	yours
he	his	his
she	her	hers
it	its	[not used]
we	our	ours
they	their	theirs
who	whose	whose

Why Should I Care about Possessive Adjectives?

Grammar mistakes with possessive adjectives are rare. However, spelling mistakes with possessive adjectives are common. Given how common the possessive adjectives are, misspelling them (particularly if you make a habit of it) will smash your credibility.

There are four common spelling mistakes with possessive adjectives. (Don’t worry. Fixing all four is easy because they’re all made the same way – by confusing the possessive adjective with an identical-sounding contraction.)

(Common Mistake 1) Writing it’s instead of its.

The contraction it’s has nothing to do with possession, i.e., is not a possessive adjective. It’s is short for it is or it has. This is a 100% rule. If you can’t expand your it’s to it is or it has, then it’s wrong.

A country can be judged by the quality of it’s proverbs. ✘

To some extent, this mistake is understandable because apostrophes are used for possession (e.g., the dog’s nose). But, it’s has nothing to do with possession. No, really, it doesn’t.

(Common Mistake 2) Writing you’re instead of your.

You’re is short for you are. This is a 100% rule. If you can’t expand your you’re to you are, then it’s wrong.

Even if you fall on you’re face, you’re still moving forward. ✘
(The first you’re is wrong. The second is correct.).

(Common Mistake 3) Writing there or they’re instead of their.

They’re is short for they are. This is a 100% rule. If you can’t expand your they’re to there are, then it’s wrong. There (just like the word here) is a place. It’s also used in expressions like There are dragons or There’s an issue.

Forgive your enemies, but never forget there names. ✘

(Common Mistake 4) Writing who’s instead of whose.

Who’s is short for who is or who has. This is a 100% rule. If you can’t expand your who’s to who is or who has, then it’s wrong.

Never go to a doctor who’s office plants have died. ✘

(A More Technical Issue) Avoiding His/Her

There’s another issue with possessive adjectives. In English, we don’t have a singular non-gender-specific one that can be used with people. We have its, but you can’t use its with people.

Each owner is responsible for its dog. ✘
(It’s can’t be used with people.)

So, when your singular person could be male or female, you have two options: (1) use their or (2) use his/her.

Each owner is responsible for their dog.
(Using their to replace a singular noun (here, owner) is acceptable. This is the best option.)
Each owner is responsible for his/her dog.

(This is acceptable, but it’s clumsy.)

There used to be a third option: use his with a caveat.

Each owner is responsible for his dog.
(This is acceptable if all owners are male. If they’re not, avoid this option, even with a caveat explaining that his means his/her.)

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AGH / Feb 2020