Possessives Exercises (My, Your, His, Her and 's)
Do more with this exercise
Possessives: my, your, his, her and 's
Use my, your, his, her, its, our and their before a noun to say who it belongs to: my bag, her brother. Use 's after a person: Tom's bag.
- The words:
- I → my, you → your, he → his, she → her, it → its, we → our, they → their.
- Before a noun:
- Put the word before the noun: my bag, her car, their house. It does not change for plural nouns: my shoes, not mys shoes.
- His or her?:
- Look at the person, not the thing. A man: Tom and his sister. A woman: Anna and her brother.
- Name + 's:
- For a person, add 's: Tom's bag, my mother's car. Do not say the bag of Tom.
- Plural + ':
- When a plural noun ends in -s, add only ': my parents' house, the girls' room. With children, men and women, add 's: the children's room.
- Its or it's? Their or they're?:
- Its and their are possessives: the dog and its bed, their house. It's means it is. They're means they are.
Examples
This is my sister.
Use my with I.
Tom is with his mother.
Tom is a man, so we use his.
Anna is in her room.
Anna is a woman, so we use her.
Sara's car is red.
Name + 's says who the car belongs to.
My parents' house is big.
Parents ends in -s, so we add only '.
The dog is in its bed.
Its has no apostrophe. It's means it is.
Practice exercises
Choose the Correct Word
Choose the correct word for each sentence.
1.Maria is with ___ brother.
2.This is John and ___ wife, Emma.
3.The cat is in ___ box.
4.___ my parents. They are teachers.
5.This is ___.
6.We are students. ___ teacher is Mr Brown.
Fill in the Blank
Type the correct possessive word.
Put the Words in Order
Click the words in the correct order to build the sentence.
13. Build the sentence:
14. Build the sentence:
15. Build the sentence:
16. Build the sentence:
True or False
Decide if each statement is true or false.
17.'Its' and 'it's' mean the same thing.
18.We say 'Tom's bag', not 'the bag of Tom'.
19.When the person is a woman, we use 'her': Anna and her brother.
20.'My' has a plural form: 'mys shoes'.
21.'They're' means 'they are'.
Possessives: My, Your, His, Her and 's
A possessive says who a thing belongs to. English has one word for each person: my, your, his, her, its, our, their. The word goes before the noun: my bag, our house, their dog. It is the same for one thing or for two or more: my shoe, my shoes.
His and her are a big problem for many students. Look at the person, not the thing. Tom and his sister: Tom is a man, so his. Anna and her brother: Anna is a woman, so her. The word sister or brother does not change it.
For a name or a person, add 's: Tom's bag, my sister's room, the teacher's car. This is the normal way in English. The bag of Tom is not natural. When a plural noun ends in -s, add only an apostrophe: my parents' house, the girls' room.
Some words sound the same but are different. Its is a possessive; it's means it is. Their is a possessive; they're means they are. A good test: say it is or they are. If the sentence is still correct, use the short form with the apostrophe.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between its and it's?
Its is a possessive: The dog is in its bed. It's is the short form of it is: It's a big dog. The possessive its has no apostrophe.
When do I use his and when do I use her?
Look at the person, not the thing. For a man, use his: Tom and his sister. For a woman, use her: Anna and her brother. In some languages one word means his, her, its, their and your. English has a different word for each one.
Can I say 'the bag of Tom'?
No. For people, use 's: Tom's bag, my mother's car, the teacher's book. The bag of Tom is not natural English.
Where does the apostrophe go: parent's or parents'?
Count the people. One parent: my parent's car. Two parents: my parents' car. When a plural noun ends in -s, add only the apostrophe. Children, men and women do not end in -s, so they take 's: the children's room.
What's the difference between their, they're and there?
They sound the same, but they are different words. Their is a possessive: their house. They're means they are: They're my friends. There is for a place: Your bag is there.
Answer key
1. Maria is with ___ brother.
Answer: her
Maria is a woman, so we use her. The word brother does not change it.
2. This is John and ___ wife, Emma.
Answer: his
John is a man, so we use his. The word wife does not change it.
3. The cat is in ___ box.
Answer: its
Its is the possessive of it. It's means it is, and its' is not a word.
4. ___ my parents. They are teachers.
Answer: They're
They're means they are: They are my parents.
5. This is ___.
Answer: Tom's bag
For a person, we use 's: Tom's bag. We do not say the bag of Tom.
6. We are students. ___ teacher is Mr Brown.
Answer: Our
The possessive of we is our.
7. Ben is my brother. ___ room is small.
Answer: His
Ben is a man (he). The possessive of he is his.
8. Lucy and ___ sister are at school.
Answer: her
Lucy is a woman (she). The possessive of she is her.
9. The children are in ___ room.
Answer: their
The children = they. The possessive of they is their.
10. This is my dog. ___ bed is small.
Answer: Its
The possessive of it is its, with no apostrophe.
11. Is this ___ phone?
Answer: Mark's
For a person, add 's to the name: Mark's phone.
12. My ___ names are Ana and Luis.
Answer: parents'
Two parents: parents ends in -s, so we add only '.
13. bag / my / is / . / sister's / red
Answer: My sister's bag is red.
The order is my + sister's + bag: the person with 's comes before the thing.
14. car / that / ? / your / is
Answer: Is that your car?
In a question, is comes first. Your comes before the noun car.
15. big / house / not / . / is / their
Answer: Their house is not big.
Their comes before the noun house. Not comes after is.
16. red / car / is / . / my / parents'
Answer: My parents' car is red.
The order is my + parents' + car. Parents' ends with ' because parents is plural.
17. 'Its' and 'it's' mean the same thing.
Answer: False
Its is the possessive of it: its bed. It's means it is.
18. We say 'Tom's bag', not 'the bag of Tom'.
Answer: True
For a person, we use 's: Tom's bag.
19. When the person is a woman, we use 'her': Anna and her brother.
Answer: True
Look at the person, not the thing. Anna is a woman, so we use her.
20. 'My' has a plural form: 'mys shoes'.
Answer: False
My does not change: my shoe, my shoes.
21. 'They're' means 'they are'.
Answer: True
They're is the short form of they are. Their is the possessive.