UNIT 4            POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

1.Possessive pronouns have the same categories of person, number, and gender as personal pronouns. Possessive pronouns have two forms: proper and absolute:

   possessive proper pronouns: my, your, his, her, its, our, their;

   possessive absolute pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers ,ours, theirs.

2. Possessive proper pronouns my, our, your, her, his, their are followed by a noun: My hands are cold. Ann gave me herumbrella.

Possessive absolute pronouns mine, ours, yours, hers, his, theirs, its are used without a noun: It’s her problem, not ours. It’s a nice camera. Is it his?

They say: ‘a friend of mine’, ‘that house of theirs’, etc.; A friend of mine is coming to see us.

‘He is my friend’ may give the idea that the speaker has only one friend. A speaker would normally say ‘He is one of myfriends or He is a friend of mine.’

3.After a possessive proper pronoun, they may add ownfor emphasis: His own answer may be unacceptable.

On my own= alone:I like living on my own (without company).

On my own= by myself:Don’t help him. Let him do it on his own (without help).

4. Numbersandadjectivesare used after a possessive proper pronoun and in front ofthe noun: Their two small children were playing outside.

All and bothare used before possessive pronouns: All my pencils are in that box. Both mybrothers live in London.

With personal pronouns all of + object form is used: all of us/ you/ them: All of us can come tomorrow. (Not: All we …). She’s invited all of you.

E x e r c i s e s

Complete these sentences appropriately by adding possessive pronouns with or without own.

1) I left my car in the garage.

2) You must make up … mind.

3) Mary hung … coat on the peg.

4) The children had to cook … supper.

5) Jack had … hair cut.

6) Bill borrowed Jenny’s car. … car was being repaired.

7) I hope you enjoy … holiday.

8) I’ll bring … towels.

9) We’ll invite you round … house sometime.

10) Every dog had … special basket to sleep in.

11) The company has offices in many countries but … head office is in New York.

12) You should do … washing up.

13) I see that he has lost … pencil; perhaps you can lend him … .

14) Those seats are not …, they are … .

15) Does your father like … job?

16) Sally is married. … husband works in a bank.

17) We’re staying in a very good hotel. … room is very comfortable.

18) They’ve got two children but I don’t remember … names.

19) I’ve eaten all … sandwiches, can I have one of …?

20) Richard has a dog and so do I. … dog and … had a fight.

21) We are going to Paris to stay with a friend of … .

Replace the words in italics by possessive pronouns.

1) The mother told the mother’s little girl a story. – The mother told her little girl a story.

2) Tom rode Tom’s bicycle to school.

3) The little bird built the little bird’s nest in the tree.

4) Susan made a dress for Susan’s doll.

5) The teacher told Richard to bring Richard’s book to the desk.

6) Mr and Mrs Robinson have just come into Mr and Mrs Robinson’s house.

7) We have sold the motor-car that belonged to us.

8) The dog is in the basket that is the dog’s.

9) I want the book that belongs to me, not the book that belongs to you.

Make a correct choice.

1) Bob is one of (our, us, ours) best pupils.

2) It isn’t (my, mine) bag. I left (my, mine) at home.

3) Whose book is this? It’s (my, mine, me).

4) Is this Mary’s pen? No, it is (me, mine, my).

5) (You, your, yours) house is not far from (our, ours, us).

6) Whose cigarettes are these? They may be (our, ours) cigarettes.

7) (Our, ours) car is faster than (their, theirs).

8) A friend of (you, yours, your) came to see (we, us, ours).

9) You can do it without (mine, my, me) help but not without (they, their, theirs).

10) He couldn’t lend me the dictionary because it wasn’t (he, him, his).

11) She is writing a letter to a friend of (her, hers, she).

12) This suitcase isn’t (us, our, ours).

13) This isn’t (my, mine, me) car. (My, mine, me) is a 1980 model.

14) Could you help me sort out these things? I cannot say which are (you, your, yours) and which are (we, our, ours).

15) (Your, you, yours) ticket is on the table and where is (her, she, hers)?

16) Who told you about it? – A friend of (you, your, yours).

17) Paula had to drive (my, mine) car to work. (Her, hers) had a flat tyre.

18) Julia fell off (her, hers, him) bicycle and broke (him, hers, her) arm.

4.4. Make sentences with a friend of/ friends of.

4.5. Complete the sentences using my own/your own, etc.