Possessive Pronoun

Definition: We use the Possessive Pronouns when we want to substitute a group of words that are indicating a possession relation.
Subject Possessive
I Mine
You Yours
He His
She Hers
It Its
We Ours
You Yours
They Theirs


For example:


This is my book.
* In this example, we can substitute "my book" for the possessive pronoun "mine". => This is mine.

This is your disk and that's mine.
* Mine substitutes the word disk and shows that it belongs to me.

A possessive pronoun indicates it is acting as a subject complement or a subject of the sentence.

For example:


The smallest gift is mine.
This is yours.
* Here the possessive pronouns acts as a subject complement.

His is on the kitchen counter.
Theirs will be delivered tomorrow.
Ours is the green one on the corner.
* Here the possessive pronoun acts as the subject of the sentence.

Note : Possessive pronouns are very similar to possessive adjectives.

For example:


You can borrow my book as long as you remember that it's not yours.
=> The possessive "my" depends on the noun "book."
=> The possessive "yours" is a pronoun which stands in the place of "your book".

When you drive to Manitoba, will you take your car or theirs?
=> The possessive "your" depends on the noun "car."
=> The possessive pronoun, "theirs," stands in the place of the noun phrase, "their car."