What is a possessive pronoun and a possessive adjective?

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Look at the following set of sentences. We may all agree that both mean the same. But the difference here is in the function of the words such as his and my in the first set of sentences which are possessive adjectives and the use of words his and mine in the second set which are possessive pronouns. So what you have to learn basically is the difference between a possessive pronoun and a possessive adjective.

• This is his car
• That is my bicycle.

• This car is his
• That bicycle is mine.

What is the difference between a pronoun and Adjective?

To understand the difference between a possessive pronoun and a possessive adjective, it is important to know the function of a pronoun and adjective as parts of speech. A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun in a sentence. It is common to replace the noun with a pronoun when it is used repeatedly in a sentence or paragraph. Thus while the name is used in the introductory sentence, it is often replaced by pronouns such as he, she, him or her in the consecutive sentences. For example, in the sentence, "Tom is an intelligent boy. He always scores good grades in his assignments." The pronoun ‘he’ is used instead of repeating the name ‘Tom’.

We all know that adjectives describe or modify nouns. For example, in the statement, “The bright moon lit our path” the word ‘bright’ is an adjective as it describes the noun ‘moon’. 

What are the characteristics of Possessive Pronoun and a Possessive Adjective?

Possessive is used to show possession, when something is owned, thus we can have possessive nouns, possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns. For example in the sentence “Sam’s son bought a new car” Sam is possessive as he has a son. ‘Sam’s’ is a possessive noun. If you replace ‘Sam’s with ‘his’ you would be using the possessive adjective- “His son bought a new car’. ‘His’ is a possessive adjective as it is showing possession and also describing the son. The same sentence could be used with a possessive pronoun as in “The car is his” which means the car belongs to him. Thus if the possessive word describes a noun it is called a possessive adjective and when the possessive word replaces a noun it is called a possessive pronoun.

What are the examples of Possessive Pronouns?

Possessive pronouns replace nouns that show ownership or possession. A list of possessive pronouns would include the words, mine, his, hers, yours, its, ours, theirs.

Examples:

• His car is faster than mine. (mine is the possessive pronoun that takes the place of the word car and shows that it is possessed by me)
• This is my cup and that is yours. (yours takes the place of the word cup and shows that it is owned by you.)

What are the examples of Possessive Adjectives?

Possessive adjectives modify nouns that show ownership or possession and usually placed before a noun. A list of possessive adjectives would include the words, my, his, hers, yours, its, our, their.

Examples:

• This is my car. (my is a possessive adjective as it describes and comes before the noun.)
• Our dog is lost.( our is a possessive adjective)

The rules in English grammar may often be complex and confusing but the key to using and speaking correctly in English is to get a hang of the grammatical rules and use them confidently in communication.

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