Possessive pronouns: mine, yours, whose
my book → the book is mine; the full my/mine grid, whose-questions and the of mine pattern (a friend of mine)
I can use the my/mine grid, ask whose-questions and say a friend of mine.
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Whose umbrella is this? - Not mine; mine has a broken rib like a true veteran.
Whose umbrella is this? - Not mine; mine has a broken rib like a true veteran.
A colleague of mine swapped desks with a friend of hers - office diplomacy.
A colleague of mine swapped desks with a friend of hers - office diplomacy.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Two columns - with a noun and instead of it:
| + noun | alone |
|---|---|
| my | mine |
| your | yours |
| his / her | his / hers |
| our | ours |
| their | theirs |
Asking about owners: Whose coat is this? - It's hers. The of-pattern: a friend of mine (one of my friends). No apostrophes in yours/hers/theirs: *your's is always wrong.
- *This book is my → mine
- *your's / *her's → yours / hers: no apostrophe
- whose/who's confused: whose = owner, who's = who is
Common Error Patterns
my used alone
Standalone slot → mine/yours/hers
Apostrophes in yours/hers
Possessive pronouns never take apostrophes
Whose umbrella is this? - Not mine; mine has a broken rib like a true veteran.
Whose umbrella is this? - Not mine; mine has a broken rib like a true veteran.
whose question + standalone mine twice.
A colleague of mine swapped desks with a friend of hers - office diplomacy.
A colleague of mine swapped desks with a friend of hers - office diplomacy.
of mine / of hers: the double-genitive pattern.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A2 course exercises