Pronouns and Possessive Determiners: My, Your, His, Her, Its, Our, Their
The Function of Possessives
Pronouns and possessive determiners are used to indicate ownership of a thing. Possessive pronouns and possessive determiners aren’t exactly the same thing, however. Possessive determiners come before a noun, whereas possessive pronouns replace a noun.
Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns are pronouns indicating ownership that replace the noun in a sentence. They usually replace previously mentioned nouns.
Examples:
- My eyes are brown, yours are blue.
- John couldn’t find his keys, but Jane had hers to lend him.
Possessive Determiners
A possessive determiner has the same basic function as a possessive pronoun, but instead of replacing the noun, it comes before the noun.
Examples:
- Can I borrow your keys?
- Their homework is due tomorrow.