What are the possessive pronouns in English?

There are six in everyday use: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, and theirs, plus its, which almost never appears as a standalone pronoun. Each one replaces a possessive adjective and its noun, so mine means my thing and theirs means their thing: This one is mine, and that one is theirs.

What is the difference between my and mine?

My is a possessive adjective and must be followed by a noun: my phone. Mine is a possessive pronoun and stands alone in place of my plus the noun: The phone is mine. The same split runs through the whole set (your/yours, her/hers, our/ours, their/theirs), while his is the same in both roles.

Do possessive pronouns have an apostrophe?

Never. Yours, hers, ours, theirs, and its are complete words with the possessive built in, so your's, her's, and their's are always errors. The apostrophe-s ending belongs only to nouns (the teacher's desk), and it's is a contraction of it is: It's raining, but the cat licked its paw.

Can I say a friend of mine?

Yes, and it is the most natural way to say one of my friends: A friend of mine recommended this place. The pattern is a, some, this, or that, plus a noun, plus of, plus a possessive pronoun, and it works for every form: a colleague of hers, that dog of theirs. Note that it is of mine, not of me or of my.

Is whose a possessive pronoun?

Yes. In questions and relative clauses, whose does the same job as the other possessive pronouns, and like his it can stand alone or come before a noun: Whose is this? Whose bag is this? Do not confuse it with who's, which is the contraction of who is or who has: Who's at the door?

English grammar · Beginner

Possessive Pronouns: Mine, Yours, His, Hers, Ours, and Theirs

Written by Eleanor Whitfield, Lead English Curriculum Editor · Reviewed September 2026

Possessive pronouns are mine, yours, his, hers, ours, and theirs, with its almost never used this way. Each one replaces a possessive adjective plus its noun: my book becomes mine, your car becomes yours. They stand on their own as the subject, object, or complement of a sentence, and they never take an apostrophe.

That umbrella isn't mine, it's yours.

mine and yours stand alone, with no noun after them

What it is

A possessive pronoun does two jobs at once: it points to an owner and it stands in for the thing owned. Instead of repeating That is my bag and this is your bag, English lets you say That bag is mine and this one is yours. The forms exist because my, your, and their cannot stand alone; they always need a noun after them, so a second set was needed for the moments when the noun is already known and would only be repeated.

Is this your coat? No, mine is the blue one. (mine = my coat) Their garden is bigger than ours. (ours = our garden)

How to spot it

Look at what follows the word. If a noun comes straight after it (my keys, her idea), it is a possessive adjective. If the word ends the phrase or is followed by a verb or preposition (the keys are mine, hers is better), it is a possessive pronoun. His is the same in both roles, so check its position.

This seat is mine. (mine = my seat, no noun follows)
Hers arrived before ours. (two pronouns, both standing for parcel or similar)
A friend of theirs lives nearby. (the of + possessive pronoun pattern)
Whose is this? It's his. (his as a pronoun: his phone, his pen, whatever it is)

Its as a standalone pronoun is grammatically possible but almost never used; speakers say its own or repeat the noun instead. It's with an apostrophe is always it is or it has.

Possessive Pronouns Quick Reference

Possessive pronouns next to the personal pronouns they belong to

Subject pronoun	Possessive adjective (+ noun)	Possessive pronoun (alone)	Example
I	my	mine	The red bike is mine.
you	your	yours	Is this pen yours?
he	his	his	The jacket on the chair is his.
she	her	hers	The decision was hers.
it	its	(its: very rare alone)	The company changed its logo. (adjective use; the pronoun is avoided)
we	our	ours	Their flat is bigger than ours.
they	their	theirs	The mistake was theirs, not ours.

Common Possessive Pronouns Examples in English

Where possessive pronouns appear in a sentence, and what each one is replacing:

Saying Who Owns Something

Whose phone is this? It's mine.: mine = my phone
The blue towels are ours; the white ones are the hotel's.: ours = our towels
That seat is hers.: hers = her seat
The final decision is yours.: yours = your decision

After the verb be is the most common position: X is mine.

Avoiding a Repeated Noun

My car is older than yours.: yours saves repeating car
Our team scored twice; theirs didn't score at all.: theirs = their team
I forgot my charger, so I borrowed his.: his = his charger
Your handwriting is neater than mine.: mine = my handwriting

Comparisons are where possessive pronouns earn their place: the second noun would be pure repetition.

As Subject or Object

Mine is the one with the sticker.: subject of the sentence
Ours has a broken zip.: subject, with a singular verb because ours = our bag
I like hers better.: object of like
Their car is parked next to ours.: object of a preposition: next to ours

The verb agrees with the thing replaced: Ours is ready (one bag), Ours are ready (several bags).

Of Mine, Of Yours

She's a colleague of mine.: one of my colleagues
Is he a friend of yours?: one of your friends
That habit of his drives me mad.: that + noun + of his, often critical

A friend of mine is more natural than one of my friends in speech and works with every possessive pronoun.

How Possessive Pronouns Work

Four rules: what they replace, how they agree, why the apostrophe never appears, and how his and its behave.

One Word Replaces Possessive Adjective Plus Noun

Every possessive pronoun is a compressed noun phrase: mine is my plus the noun already in play. That is why it cannot be followed by a noun (mine book is impossible) and why it can stand anywhere a noun phrase can: as subject, as object, or after be.

Your room is tidy. Mine is a mess.

mine = my room

Possessive pronoun = possessive adjective + the noun you are not repeating.

The Owner Decides the Word, the Thing Decides the Verb

Choose the pronoun by the owner: hers for a woman, theirs for a group. But the verb agrees with the thing being replaced, because that is what the pronoun stands for. Hers is new if hers means her car; hers are new if it means her shoes.

Their children are grown up. Ours are still at school.

ours = our children, so the plural are

Owner picks the word, noun picks the verb.

Never an Apostrophe

Nouns show possession with an apostrophe (Anna's, the dog's), so learners add one to pronouns too: your's, her's, their's. Pronouns never do; the possessive is built into the word itself. The only -s word with an apostrophe in this area is it's, and that is a contraction of it is, not a possessive.

The choice is yours. It's up to you.

yours with no apostrophe; it's = it is

Pronouns own without apostrophes.

His Does Both Jobs, Its Does Only One

His is the same whether a noun follows (his coat) or not (the coat is his). Its is only a possessive adjective in practice (its paw, its name); as a standalone pronoun it is grammatically possible but so rare that speakers rephrase, with the cat's own or by repeating the noun.

That's his. The dog wagged its tail.

his alone is fine; its always has a noun after it

His works alone, its needs its noun.

Common Mistakes with Possessive Pronouns

Incorrect: Is this pen your's?

Correct: Is this pen yours?

Possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe. The apostrophe-s pattern belongs to nouns (Anna's pen); the pronoun already contains the possessive meaning, so your's is always wrong.

Incorrect: This is mine book.

Correct: This is my book.

Mine replaces the noun, so it cannot be followed by one. When the noun is present, the possessive adjective my is the form you need. Mine book is the most common beginner error with this set.

Incorrect: The red car is her.

Correct: The red car is hers.

Her on its own is the object pronoun (I saw her). The possessive pronoun that stands alone is hers, with -s, matching yours, ours, and theirs.

Incorrect: The dog hurt it's paw.

Correct: The dog hurt its paw.

It's is a contraction of it is or it has. The possessive form is its, with no apostrophe, in line with his and hers. If you can expand the word to it is, the apostrophe belongs; if not, leave it out.

Of Mine, Whose, and Letter Endings

Three smaller patterns that come up constantly in real writing.

The double possessive: a friend of mine

English combines of with a possessive pronoun to mean one of my, one of your, and so on. The pattern needs a, some, or a demonstrative (this, that) in front of the noun.

A cousin of mine works there.: one of my cousins
That car of yours is blocking the drive.: that + noun + of yours, often mildly critical
Some friends of ours are visiting.: some of our friends

It also works with names: a friend of Sam's.

Whose as a possessive pronoun

Whose asks about ownership and can stand alone like the other possessive pronouns or sit in front of a noun like the adjectives.

Whose is this jacket?: whose standing alone
Whose jacket is this?: whose in front of a noun
I found a wallet, but I don't know whose it is.: whose inside a clause: statement order, no inversion

Who's with an apostrophe is who is or who has, never possessive: Who's coming? but Whose coat is this?

Yours at the end of a letter

Yours closes formal and semi-formal letters in a set of fixed phrases, none of which takes an apostrophe.

Yours sincerely,: British, when you know the person's name
Yours faithfully,: British, after Dear Sir or Madam
Sincerely yours, / Yours truly,: American variants; plain Sincerely is more common there

In emails to people you know, Best wishes or Kind regards has largely replaced these.

Quick Check: Possessive Pronouns

Fill each gap with the right possessive pronoun (mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs).

1. That's not my coffee. ___ has milk in it.

Answer: Mine

mine = my coffee, the subject of the sentence

2. We've got our tickets. Have they got ___?

Answer: theirs

theirs = their tickets

3. Is this umbrella ___, Maria?

Answer: yours

yours = your umbrella, no apostrophe

4. Her presentation was good, but ___ was better. (he)

Answer: his

his is the same word alone or before a noun

5. The house on the left is ___. (she)

Answer: hers

hers = her house; her alone would be the object pronoun

6. Their garden is tiny compared with ___. (we)

Answer: ours

ours = our garden

Possessive Pronouns FAQs

What are the possessive pronouns in English?: There are six in everyday use: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, and theirs, plus its, which almost never appears as a standalone pronoun. Each one replaces a possessive adjective and its noun, so mine means my thing and theirs means their thing: This one is mine, and that one is theirs.
What is the difference between my and mine?: My is a possessive adjective and must be followed by a noun: my phone. Mine is a possessive pronoun and stands alone in place of my plus the noun: The phone is mine. The same split runs through the whole set (your/yours, her/hers, our/ours, their/theirs), while his is the same in both roles.
Do possessive pronouns have an apostrophe?: Never. Yours, hers, ours, theirs, and its are complete words with the possessive built in, so your's, her's, and their's are always errors. The apostrophe-s ending belongs only to nouns (the teacher's desk), and it's is a contraction of it is: It's raining, but the cat licked its paw.
Can I say a friend of mine?: Yes, and it is the most natural way to say one of my friends: A friend of mine recommended this place. The pattern is a, some, this, or that, plus a noun, plus of, plus a possessive pronoun, and it works for every form: a colleague of hers, that dog of theirs. Note that it is of mine, not of me or of my.
Is whose a possessive pronoun?: Yes. In questions and relative clauses, whose does the same job as the other possessive pronouns, and like his it can stand alone or come before a noun: Whose is this? Whose bag is this? Do not confuse it with who's, which is the contraction of who is or who has: Who's at the door?