What Are Possessive Pronouns?
Possessive pronouns show ownership. The term possessive pronoun covers possessive adjectives and absolute possessive pronouns.The possessive pronouns are:
Possessive Adjectives
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Absolute Possessive Pronouns
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Possessive Pronouns Replace Nouns
Possessive pronouns are used to indicate who (or what) owns something. Like all pronouns, possessive pronouns take the place of nouns in sentences.Look at these examples:
- Take Sarah's car to the party.
- Take her car to the party. (In this example, the possessive adjective her replaces Sarah.)
- Take hers to the party. (In this example, the absolute possessive pronoun hers replaces Sarah's car.)
Examples of Possessive Pronouns
Below are examples of possessive pronouns. (There is a mix of possessive adjectives and absolute possessive pronouns.)- Take her spoon and put it by your plate. (These are both possessive adjectives.)
- His view is that it's come to the end of its working life. (These are both possessive adjectives.)
- Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist ought to have his head examined. (Samuel Goldwyn, 1882-1974) (This is a possessive adjective.)
- Humans are the only animals that have children on purpose with the exception of guppies, who like to eat theirs. (P J O'Rourke) (This is an absolute possessive pronoun.)
- We cherish our friends not for their ability to amuse us, but for ours to amuse them. (Evelyn Waugh, 1903-1966) (our and their = possessive adjectives / ours = absolute possessive pronoun)
A Quick Test
Do the test on the possessive adjectives page too.
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