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.