Possessive Adjectives
What are possessive adjectives?
When you’re starting to learn the details of English grammar, learning about possessives can be especially tricky.
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Possessive adjectives – like other adjectives – are used to describe a noun in a sentence. Most importantly – they describe who something belongs to.
A possessive adjective is usually used to describe a noun, and it comes before it, like other adjectives:
- My car is bigger than her car.
Possessive adjectives are used to show possession or ownership of something. While we use them when we refer to people, it is more in the sense of relationship than ownership.
The possessive adjective needs to agree with the possessor and not with the thing that is possessed.
More Examples
- My car is very old.
- Her boyfriend is very friendly.
- Our dog is black.
- Their homework is on the table.
We do not include an S to the adjective when the noun is plural like in many other languages.
Examples:
- Our cars are expensive. (Correct)
Ours cars are expensive. (Incorrect)
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Activity:
Complete the sentences:
- name is Peter. He is from the United States.
- name is Petra. She is from Russia.
- names are Francois and Marianne. We are from France.
- names are Kyoko and Tomoyoshi. They are from Japan.
a. I am in class with my teacher.
b. He is in class with teacher.
c. Are you in class with teacher?
d. The students are in class with teacher.
f. Jane and I are in class with teacher.
g. Stephen and you are in class with teacher.