Whose Is It? Possessive ‘s and Adjectives

Hook

“Whose bag is this?” “It’s Tom’s.” “Is that your phone?” “No, it’s her phone.” In every home, classroom and office you need to say who things belong to. English has two tools for this: possessive adjectives (my, your, his…) and ‘s.

Notice

  • This is my book. Is this your pen?
  • Tom is my friend. His car is blue.
  • Anna is a teacher. Her students are from Brazil.
  • This is Tom’s book. That is Anna’s bag.
  • The dog is hungry. Its bowl is empty.
  • We love our house. They love their garden.

Does his or her depend on the owner or on the thing?

Rule

SubjectIyouhesheitwethey
Possessivemyyourhisheritsourtheir
  • his / her depends on the owner: Tom → his mother; Anna → her father.
  • ‘s after a name or singular noun: Tom’s book, my sister’s room.
  • Plural ending in -s: add only ‘: my parents’ house, the students’ books. Irregular plurals: the children’s toys.
  • Question: Whose is this? — It’s Maria’s. / It’s mine.
  • its (possessive) ≠ it’s (= it is).

Watch Out

  • ✗ Anna loves his father. → ✓ Anna loves her father. (the owner is female)
  • ✗ the book of Tom → ✓ Tom’s book
  • ✗ The dog wants it’s food. → ✓ The dog wants its food.
  • ✗ They love they house. → ✓ They love their house.

Practice

  1. This is ___ book. (Tom)
  2. This is ___ bag. (she)
  3. Those are ___ shoes. (they)
  4. Sam loves ___ mother.
  5. We clean ___ room every Sunday.
  6. ___ is this coat? — It’s Lisa’s.
  7. It’s or its? “The cat is sleeping in ___ bed.”
  8. My parents / house →
Show the answers
  1. Tom’s
  2. her
  3. their
  4. his
  5. our
  6. Whose
  7. its
  8. my parents’ house

Your Turn

Write six sentences about things that belong to people you know, using ‘s and possessive adjectives: My brother’s car is old. His phone is new…

Connect

Our Grammar Quiz has A1 questions on possessives and more, with an explanation for each answer.

Try our Grammar Quiz →

Spot mistakes like “Anna loves his father” in our Error Correction tool.

Try Error Correction →

CEFR A1 — Spoken Production: I can describe people I know and the things they have, in simple terms.

Azizul Hakim
Latest posts by Azizul Hakim (see all)

Printable worksheet (PDF) Pro

PreviousNext