Possessive Adjectives vs Pronouns — Easy

Possessive adjectives are small words that show who something belongs to. The full list is: my, your, his, her, its, our, their. They always come before a noun: 'my book,' 'your pen,' 'her cat.' Possessive pronouns are words that replace the noun: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs. You use them when you do not need to repeat the noun: 'Is this pen yours?' means 'Is this pen your pen?' The pronoun saves you from saying the noun twice.

At this level, the most important rule is position. If there is a noun after the possessive word, use the adjective form (my, your, her). If the possessive word stands alone at the end of the sentence or after 'is,' use the pronoun form (mine, yours, hers). 'That is my coat' uses the adjective because 'coat' follows. 'That coat is mine' uses the pronoun because nothing follows. Remember that none of these words need an apostrophe — never write 'your's' or 'her's.' Start with the most common pairs: my/mine, your/yours, and her/hers.