What are possessive adjectives?
Possessive adjectives - my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their - modify the noun following it in order to show possession.
Examples:
- I'll get my bag.
- Is this your luggage?
Possessive adjectives are often confused with possessive pronouns.
Examples:
- Your bike is blue. (your is an adjective which modifies bike)
- Mine is yellow. (mine is a pronoun which functions as the subject of the verb is)
Examples:
- I'll get my bag.
- Is this your luggage?
Examples:
- Your bike is blue. (your is an adjective which modifies bike)
- Mine is yellow. (mine is a pronoun which functions as the subject of the verb is)
Examples
Subject Pronouns I you he she it we you they Possessive Adjectives my your his her its our your their
Examples:
- Why didn't you clean your room?
(your modifies the noun room)
- Mary doesn't like her dress.
(her modifies the noun dress)
- The chameleon can change its color.
(its modifies the noun color)
His hair is short Her hair is long.
| Subject Pronouns | I | you | he | she | it | we | you | they |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Possessive Adjectives | my | your | his | her | its | our | your | their |
- Why didn't you clean your room?
(your modifies the noun room) - Mary doesn't like her dress.
(her modifies the noun dress) - The chameleon can change its color.
(its modifies the noun color)
Things to remember:
1. Possessive adjectives are different from possessive pronouns.
- This is your (possessive adjective) book and this is mine (possessive pronoun).
2. its, their are possessive adjectives.
- Its color is beautiful.
- Their car is in their garage.
3. it's, they're and there are not possessive adjectives — its is a contraction of it is or it has; they're is a contraction of they are; there is an adverb of place.
- It's not my book = It is not my book.
- My house is big. It's got five bedrooms = It has got five bedrooms.
- Nancy and Alan are from New York. They're my friends = They are my friends.
- Please, put the chair there. (adverb)
- This is your (possessive adjective) book and this is mine (possessive pronoun).
- Its color is beautiful.
- Their car is in their garage.
- It's not my book = It is not my book.
- My house is big. It's got five bedrooms = It has got five bedrooms.
- Nancy and Alan are from New York. They're my friends = They are my friends.
- Please, put the chair there. (adverb)
Exercise 1: Possessive adjectives
Exercise 2: Possessive adjectives
Yes/No questions and short answers with the verb be
Yes/No questions – be (am, are, is)
Subject and verb change their position in statement and question.
- Sentence: You are from Germany.
- Question: Are you from Germany?
We always use the short answer, not only Yes or No.
NOTE:
If the answer is Yes, we always use the long form. → Example: Yes, I am.
If the answer is No, we either use the long or the contracted form (short form). → Example: No, I am not → No, I'm not.
Exercise 2: Short answers with am, are, is
