THE POSSESSIVE

1. Possessive adjectives vs. Possessive pronouns

1.a. Possessive adjectives
I MY
YOU YOUR
HE HIS
SHE HER
IT ITS
WE OUR
YOU YOUR
THEY THEIR
My, your, his, her, its, our, and their are the English possessive adjectives, used before nouns
to show possession or ownership.
EG. That's my folder. (My is an adjective which shows that I am the owner of the folder.)
1.b. Possessive pronouns
I MINE
YOU YOURS
HE HIS
SHE HERS
IT ITS
WE OURS
YOU YOURS
THEY THEIRS
Mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs are the possessive pronouns used to substitute a noun
and to show possession or ownership.
EG. This is your disk and that's mine. (Mine = my disk)

2. Forming Possessives
Showing possession in English is a relatively easy matter (believe it or not). By adding an
apostrophe (´) and an s we can manage to transform most singular nouns into their possessive
form. Add the apostrophe to the “owner”, and place it before the thing owned:
- The car's front seat
- H. G. Well's book
- A hard day's work

With singular nouns ending in S, the British only add the apostrophe (Charles' car); Americans,
however, add the ‘s (Charles’s car)

Possessives of Plurals & Irregular Plurals

Most plural nouns already end in s. To create their possessive, add an apostrophe after the s:
- The lions' usual source of water has dried up.
- The babies' beds were all in a row.
- The Pepins' house is the big blue one on the corner.

With nouns whose plurals are irregular, however, you will need to add an apostrophe followed by an
s to create the possessive form.
- She plans on opening a women's clothing boutique.
- Children's programming is not a high priority.

Compound Possessives
When you have more than one “owner”, the ‘s goes with the last one.
- Miguel and Cecilia's new car is in the parking lot.
EXERCISES
- Use either the possessive adjectives or the possessive pronouns.
Use ______ (my/mine) slippers so you don’t get ______ (your/yours) feet cold.
No, thanks, I have ______ (my/mine).
Where is that stupid dog of ______ (your/yours)?
I think it’s chasing ______ (your/yours) fat cat.
If it lays its dirty paws on ______ (my/mine) baby, you’re dead!
Ok, ok, I’ll ask the neighbor to keep the dog with ______ (her/hers) for a while.
Does she have enough room for ______ (her/hers) dog and ______ (your/yours)?
I think so. ______ (Her/Hers) backyard is much bigger than ______ (our/ours).

- Make the possessive form.

1. The house of my friend.
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2. The picture of Da Vinci.
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3. Two of the friends of my sister.
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4. The 11 of Ocean.
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5. The movies of Moe, Larry and Curly.
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6. The records of The Beatles.
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7. The records of Elvis.
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8. The eyes of my mother and my father.
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9. The history of Queen Elizabeth I.
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10. The minds of women.
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11. The most beautiful city of Brazil.
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12. The color of this coffee.
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13. The 13 of July.
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14. The size of a fist.
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15. The secrets of the heart of that incredibly beautiful woman.
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