Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives
Pronouns substitute for nouns. Pronouns can be singular (I, he, it) or plural (we, they). Possessive adjectives (my, our, their) are always followed by a noun, and they are never plural. Look at this chart.
Subject Pronoun I you he, she, it we you they | Object Pronoun me you him, her, it us you them | Possessive adjective my your his, her, its our your their | Possessive Pronouns mine yours his, hers, its ours yours theirs |
Subject Pronouns
Subject pronouns replace nouns in the sentence. They are located in front of the main verb in a sentence, or after the auxiliary verb in a question.
Look at the difference between these two sentences, and discuss the difference between the two. When could you say sentence A? Do we know who we are talking about in sentence A if it is the first sentence in a conversation? In sentence B, does it sound repetitive? Do you see why pronouns are sometimes necessary?
a. He is here, but he is absent because she told him that he did not have to take it.
b. Lee is here, but John is absent because the professor told John that John did not have to take the exam.
Exercise 1
Instructions: Circle the subject pronouns in these sentences
1. I am going to the beach.
2. You study English.
3. He is absent today.
4. She is absent, too.
5. We never understand her.
6. They listen to classical music.
Exercise 2
Instructions: Replace the underlined subject pronoun with a logical pronoun.
1. Ben has arrived, but Mary is not ready to leave yet.
2. Tina and Amy are 18 years old. Their father is taking them to a restaurant for their birthday.
3. You and I are in the same class as Adam and Nancy.
4. You and Sam should consider taking the bus to school.
5. The dog looks clean. Did Ted give him a bath?
6. My friends, my brother, my aunt, and I are flying home from Greece on Saturday.
7. Your friend and her sister are invited to the dinner, aren't they?
8. Marco and Jose like this kind of music, don't they?
9. Caracas is the capital of Venezuela.
10. The cat will not go away until you feed it.
Object Pronouns
Object pronouns replace object in the sentence. They go after the verb or after a preposition in sentences.
· He saw me. He spoke to me. After me, you can go.
· I saw you. He smiled at you. To you, she seems nice.
· You saw him. This is for him. For him, this is easy.
· He saw her. This is for her. For her, this is easy.
· She saw it. Let's talk about it. Behind it is the store.
· We saw them. Let's talk to them. Behind them is a garage.
· They saw us. He gave it to us. To us, he spoke in German.
Again, look at the difference between these two sentences. Do we know who we are talking about in sentence A if it is the first sentence in a conversation? Do you know who every pronoun in A is referring to?
Examples:
a. Marcia saw them at the movies with him last Friday, but she did not see us because we were sitting behind her.
a. Marcia saw Jennifer and Michelle at the movies with Ahmed last Friday, but she did not see Anthony and me because we were sitting behind Marcia.
Examples with prepositional phrases
Across from me, Susan was singing a song in Japanese.
Exercise 3:
Instructions: Circle the object pronouns in these sentences.
- She is going to the beach with me.
- They study English with you.
- I saw him.
- We spoke to her.
- They are going with us.
- We wrote to them.
Exercise 4:
Instructions: Replace each of the underlined elements with one logical object pronoun.
Example: Marsha sent three e-mail messages to my sister and me.
Marsha sent them to us.
1. Adam gave the book (__________) to Karen and me(__________).
2. Amanda saw you and me(__________) yesterday at the park.
3. Did Nicole give the book(__________) to Michelle(__________)?
4. I see you and your brother(__________).
5. Do you want to go with Mary, Jennifer, and me(__________)?
6. I gave the dog(__________) a bone. (The dog is a boy.)
7. Will you send these letters to my dad for me(__________)?
8. I love English(__________)!
9. I love computers(__________)!
10. Are you and your brothers(__________) going with Kathy, Matt, and me(__________)?
Possessive Adjectives:
Possessive adjectives show ownership. It answers the question "Whose?" and it is always followed by a noun.
· my
· your
· his
· her
· its
· our
· their
USE
Be careful how you use possessive adjectives. Look how confusing sentence B is. To use these adjectives right, you must make sure your reader knows the noun that is being replaced.
a. That is Jaime's book. It is not Heather's book. Heather's book is over there.
b. That is her book. It is not her book. Her book is over there.
Exercise 5:
Instructions: Answer affirmatively to each question, but use a possessive adjective in place of the possessive noun in your response. You can also replace nouns with subject pronouns to make the sentence sound better.
1. Is this John's book?
2. Do you like Byron and Brad's new office?
3. Has Roy's daughter graduated from college yet?
4. Is Janelle and Chino's mother out of the hospital yet?
5. Is this my sandwich?
6. Is this your sandwich?
7. Is this our parking space?
8. Are these our notebooks?
9. Did you return Amanda's book back to the bookstore?
10. Does this business belong to you and me?
Possessive Pronouns:
Possessive pronouns are used alone. They do not have nouns after them. Possessive pronouns replace the expression "belongs to."
Singular | Plural | |
1st Person | mine (NO "s") | ours |
2nd Person | yours | yours |
3rd Person | his, hers, its | theirs |
If you speak Spanish or French, remember that in English you cannot say "mines."
Ces sont les miens. Son mios. = These are mine. NOT These are mines
Examples
· That book belongs to me. That is my book. That book is mine.
· That book does not belong to you. It is not your book. It is not yours.
· That book does not belong to them. It is not their book. It is not theirs.
- Is this book Sergio's or Melissa's? Is this their book? Is this book hers or his?
Special use: "Friend of mine"
You can use a possessive pronoun after the expression "friend of..."
We are friends of theirs. I saw a friend of yours yesterday. They are friends of hers.
We are friends of theirs. I saw a friend of yours yesterday. They are friends of hers.
Exercise 6:
Instructions: Follow the pattern to change these sentences with possessive adjectives to sentences with possessive pronouns.
Pattern. It is my book. It is mine. It isn't my problem. The problem isn't mine.
1. Those are my bananas.
2. It isn't your pen.
3. She is his friend.
4. Are those her glasses?
5. That is our house.
6. Is this my lunchbox or is it your lunchbox?
7. My apartment is on the second floor. (Start with "The apartment ...")
8. My books are on the floor. (Start with "The books......)
9. Those are my CDs.
10. That is our horse.
Possessive Nouns
Most nouns have a possessive form. The possessive form shows ownership or a relationship. It replaces the word of or have. It answers the question "Whose?" A possessive noun has another noun after it, except when the possessed object is clear to the reader.
Examples:
· My sister has a nice friend. = = My sister's friend is nice.
· The teachers have briefcases. = = The teachers' briefcases
· Irene has a house. = = Irene's house is gray with white trim.
· Those cats have a toy mouse. = = That is the cats' toy mouse.
· Tom and Sue have a car. = = Tom and Sue's car is red.
· Henry and Judy both have cars. = = Henry's is blue. Judy's is green. (car)
Singular and Plural of Possessive Nouns
When creating possessive form nouns there are 8 simple rules:
1. If a singular noun does not end in s, add 's
· the cars of my sister = my sister's cars
· The teacher has a problem. = the teacher's problem
· the screen of that computer = that computer's screen
· Henry has two brothers = Henry's brothers
· The child has three dogs. = the child's dogs
· the eraser on the pencil = the pencil's eraser
· the books of that student = that student's books
· the exams of that teacher = that teacher's exams
2. If a singular common noun ends in s, add 's—unless the next word begins with s. If the next word begins with s, or a word with s or sh sound, add an apostrophe only. (This includes words with s and sh sounds.)
- The boss has a wife. = the boss's wife
- My boss uses a special coffee cup. = the boss' special coffee cup
- The mistress buys special chocolate. = the mistress's chocolate.
- The mistress buys special sweets. = the mistress' sweets
- the hem of the dress = the dress's hem
- the seam of the dress = the dress' seam
3. If a singular proper noun ends in s, add an apostrophe.
- Francis has a job. = Francis' job
4. If a noun is plural and ends in an s, add an apostrophe, even if the intended meaning of the word is singular (such as physic and mathematics.)
(With words like "Jones", you can also use apostrophe + s.)
· The Jones have a cat. = It is the Jones' (or Jones's) cat.
· the office of the doctors = the doctors' office
· The singers bought new costumes. = the singers' costumes
· the novels of those authors = those authors' novels
5. If a plural noun does not end in s, add 's
Common | Possessive | |
singular | woman | woman's |
plural | women | women's |
singular | man | man's |
plural | men | men's |
singular | child | child's |
plural | children | children's |
· The children have a dog. = the children's dog
· The men have a separate bathroom = the men's room.
6. If there is joint possession, use the correct possessive on the possessive closest to the noun.
- Joe and Jerry's latest adventure almost killed them.
- Tahni was worried about her mother and father's trip to Europe.
7. If there is a separate possession of the same noun, use the correct possessive form for each word.
- The student's and the teacher's reasons for staying home from school were invalid.
(The student's excuses were different from those of the teachers) - The horses' and the cows' food was saturated by the rainstorm.
(The horses food was different from that of the cows.)
8. In a compound construction, use the correct possessive form for the word closest to the noun. Avoid possessives with compound plurals.
- My sisters-in-law's friend is going to marry my uncle.
- The reading light's battery is dead.
- My brother needs a new battery for his fishing boat's navigation system.
Now you will practice possessive nouns with a 15-point multiple-choice exercise.
1. Which sentence means the same as this sentence:
The Jamisons have a new car
a. The Jamisons' car is new.
b. The Jamisonses' car is new.
c. The Jamisons's car is new.
d. The Jamisonse's car is new.
2. Which sentence means the same as this sentence:
The house of Victor Holland is being built.
a. Victor Holland' house is being built.
b. Victor Holland's house is being built.
c. Victor Hollands' house is being built.
d. Victor Hollands's house is being built.
3. Which sentence means the same as this sentence:
The assignments I need to return to those students are on the table.
a. The students' assignments are on the table.
b. The student's assignments are on the table.
c. The student' assignments are on the table.
d. The students assignments are on the table.
4. Which sentence means the same as this sentence:
The assignments I need to return to that student are on the table.
a. The students' assignments are on the table.
b. The student's assignments are on the table.
c. The student' assignments are on the table.
d. The students assignments are on the table.
5. Which sentence means the same as this sentence:
The assignments I need to return to the grammar students and the ones that belong to the writing students are on the table.
a. The grammar student's and the writing student's assignments are on the table.
b. The grammar students' and the writing students' assignments are on the table.
c. The grammar students and the writing student's assignments are on the table.
d. The grammar students and the writing students' assignments are on the table.
6. Which sentence means the same as this sentence:
The assignment I need to return to that student is on the table.
a. That students' assignment is on the table.
b. That students's assignment is on the table.
c. That student's assignment is on the table.
d. That student assignment is on the table.
7. Which sentence means the same as this sentence:
The tickets of the team members are in my pocket.
a. The team member's tickets are in my pocket.
b. The team members' tickets are in my pocket.
c. The team members's tickets are in my pocket.
d. The team members tickets are in my pocket.
8. Which sentence means the same as this sentence:
The ticket of that team member is in my pocket.
a. The team member's ticket is in my pocket.
b. The team members' ticket is in my pocket.
c. The team members's ticket is in my pocket.
d. The team members ticket is in my pocket.
9. Which sentence means the same as this sentence:
The name of that plant is easy to remember.
a. That plants name is easy to remember.
b. That plant's name is easy to remember.
c. That plants' name is easy to remember.
d. That plant'es name is easy to remember.
10. Which sentence means the same as this sentence:
The hem of the dress came out.
a. The dress' hem came out.
b. The dress's hem came out.
c. The dresses' hem came out.
d. The dress' hem came out.
11. Which sentence means the same as this sentence:
The seam of the dress came out.
a. The dress' seam came out.
b. The dress's seam came out.
c. The dresses' seam came out.
d. The dress seam came out.
12. Which sentence means the same as this sentence:
I have two teachers. They are Mrs. Roland and Ms. Veiga.
a. My teachers' names' are Mrs. Roland and Ms. Veiga.
b. My teacher's names are Mrs. Roland and Ms. Veiga.
c. My teachers' names are Mrs. Roland and Ms. Veiga.
d. My teacher's name's are Mrs. Roland and Ms. Veiga.
13. Which sentence means the same as this sentence:
I have one best friend. Her name is Mollie Susan.
a. My best friend's name is Mollie Susan.
b. My best friends' name is Mollie Susan.
c. My best friend name's is Mollie Susan.
d. My best friend's name's is Mollie Susan.
14. Which sentence means the same as this sentence:
Pedro has two cousins. They are visiting him next week.
a. Pedro's cousins are visiting him next week.
b. Pedros' cousins are visiting him next week.
c. Pedro's cousins' are visiting him next week.
d. Pedros cousins are visiting him next week.
15. Which sentence means the same as this sentence:
The students have two exams tomorrow. They will not be easy.
a. The student's exams are not going to be easy.
b. The students' exams are not going to be easy.
c. The studentses exams are not going to be easy.
d. The students exams are not going to be easy.
Exercise 7
Directions: In the following sentences, circle the correct pronoun.
1. Most people believe that if (you / they) work hard, (you / they) will become rich.
2. My friends enjoy fishing on (their / his) day off. (They / He) find it a relaxing hobby.
3. As music lovers, (I / we) like to buy several CDs that (I /we) enjoy.
4. Although a woman may have many job opportunities, (they / she) may be paid less than a man.
5. (Their, There, They’re) car broke down because they never changed its oil.
6. The dog searched for (its / it’s) owner all day long.
7. (Whose / Who’s) decision was it to postpone the meeting?
8. I didn’t realize that I lost (your / you’re) favorite book.
9. The decision to move is (her’s / hers).
10. The notebooks with the orange covers are (mines, mine).
Exercise 8:
Instructions: Underline the errors in subject-verb agreement. Then fix the error.
Example:
A computer is a complex machine; nevertheless, they have a lot to offer us.
it has
1. Maria enjoys the strolls in the park since it is so relaxing.
2. When I visit the actors in the theater, I try to make him feel appreciated.
3. The remote control was missing several of their buttons.
4. The remote controls was missing several of it buttons.
5. When a student realizes they made a mistake, they usually feel regretful.
6. When students realize they made a mistake, they usually feel regretful.
7. When a student forgets to do their homework, he usually gets in trouble.
Directions: Circle the pronoun that best fits the sentence.
8. Laura interviewed only one candidate, for she knew __________ was the right person for the job.
a. it
b. he
c. they
9. ____________ yellow and blue polka dot tie was left in the office?
a. Whose
b. Who’s
10. The notes you gathered for the research project are better than ___________.
a. ours’
b. ours
c. our
11. I hadn’t heard __________ talk so negatively in years.
a. myself
b. yourself
12. The instructor said we couldn’t receive a passing grade if ___________ didn’t study.
a. they
b. we
c. he
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