Possessive pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs

Possessive pronouns are used to indicate ownership or possession of something. They replace a noun and show that something belongs to a specific person or group. The pronouns "mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs" are all possessive pronouns. Let's take a closer look at each one and how they are used.

1. "Mine":

   - "Mine" is the possessive pronoun used to indicate ownership by the speaker.

   - It replaces a noun and shows that something belongs to the speaker.

   - Example: "The book is mine." (This means the book belongs to the speaker.)

2. "Yours":

   - "Yours" is the possessive pronoun used to indicate ownership by the person or people being spoken to.

   - It replaces a noun and shows that something belongs to the person or people being addressed.

   - Example: "Is this pen yours?" (This means the pen belongs to the person being spoken to.)

3. "His":

   - "His" is the possessive pronoun used to indicate ownership by a male singular noun or male subject.

   - It replaces a noun and shows that something belongs to the male person or subject being referred to.

   - Example: "The car is his." (This means the car belongs to a male person.)

4. "Hers":

   - "Hers" is the possessive pronoun used to indicate ownership by a female singular noun or female subject.

   - It replaces a noun and shows that something belongs to the female person or subject being referred to.

   - Example: "The bag is hers." (This means the bag belongs to a female person.)

5. "Ours":

   - "Ours" is the possessive pronoun used to indicate ownership by a group or multiple people, including the speaker.

   - It replaces a noun and shows that something belongs to the group or people being referred to.

   - Example: "The house is ours." (This means the house belongs to a group of people, including the speaker.)

6. "Theirs":

   - "Theirs" is the possessive pronoun used to indicate ownership by a plural noun or subject.

   - It replaces a noun and shows that something belongs to the plural noun or subject being referred to.

   - Example: "The bikes are theirs." (This means the bikes belong to a group of people or a plural subject.)

It's important to note that possessive pronouns, unlike possessive determiners (e.g., my, your, his, her, our, their), do not require an accompanying noun. They can stand alone to indicate ownership. Additionally, possessive pronouns are always written without an apostrophe.

Overall, possessive pronouns play a crucial role in indicating ownership or possession and help to make sentences clearer and more concise.