When mine is used. Possessive pronouns and possessive case in English

“I love him” and “I love his cat” - in Russian, the form of the personal pronoun answering the question “who?” is completely identical to the possessive pronoun answering the question “whose?”. It's not like that in English. Let's look at two types of pronouns that indicate a person, be it the object itself or the person who performs the action or on whom the action is performed, or who belongs to someone or something:

• Personal pronouns (who? what? whom? to whom? etc.)
• Possessive pronouns (whose?)

Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns are pronouns that indicate the subject, but do not name it, that is: I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they. We are lucky to have you. In English, personal pronouns have only two cases:

• Nominative – as in Russian, the nominative case is always only the subject;
• Objective - combines everything that in the Russian language would be expressed by all other cases except the nominative.

It is important to remember that in English there is no pronoun “you”. There was once a pronoun in English, “thou,” which can sometimes be intimidating to those who open a volume of Shakespeare for the first time in their lives. But this is just a harmless “you.” It is not currently used. Instead, we have long used “you,” which comes from ye – you (plural). That is, before it was both you - thou, and you - ye. In the end, only “you” remained. Therefore, every time you use the pronoun “you,” you are addressing the person with you. It’s not for nothing that they say that the British are the most polite nation in the world.

It is important to note that some languages ​​also have an indefinite personal pronoun that replaces an arbitrary subject regardless of gender - for example, French. on and it. man. In English, this pronoun is “one.” For example, one doesn’t have to know everything in order to succeed.

Possessive pronouns

These pronouns qualify the noun and answer the questions “whose, whose, whose.”
Possessive pronouns have two forms

The possessive pronoun cannot be used alone in its defining function. It always accompanies a noun. And, conversely, the possessive pronoun in the function of a noun is always used separately and is most often used in order to avoid tautology:
I know her address, tell me his.(His = his + address)
This is his cars and that’s ours.(Ours = our + car)

Pay attention to the strict correspondence between the use of possessive and personal pronouns.
She took her bag and left.(She took her bag and left.)
The students wanted to see their papers.(The students wanted to see their work.)

As a rule, they are used with nouns denoting parts of the body, items of clothing, relatives possessive pronouns, not the definite article.
Close your eyes. Put on your hat. This is my sister.

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ex. 1 Replace the highlighted words with personal pronouns.
Example: Pete lives here. I saw Pete yesterday. -> He lives here. I saw him yesterday.

1. Alice is my girlfriend. I love Alice.
2. Jane and I saw Mark but Mark didn't see Jane and me.
3. I told Steve and Carol to come.
4. My parents liked the cat and bought the cat.
5. Why are the books on the table? Put the books on the shelf.
6. It's a nice bird. Listen how lovely the bird is singing.
7. Your friend and you are late again.
8. My sister and I are great friends.
9. I haven't seen Pete and Alex today.
10. Steve and Mark have invited my friend and me to the cinema.

ex. 2 Change the highlighted sentences or parts of sentences according to the example.

Example: This is not my pen. I want my pen. -> I want mine.

1. This is my girlfriend and that's his girlfriend.
2. Their street is not as busy as our street.
3. These are my children and those are her children.
4. My flat is smaller than their flat.
5. It's not your umbrella. It's my umbrella.
6. My telephone doesn't work. Can I use your telephone?

ex. 3Fill in the blanks with pronouns.

1. How many times a day do you brush....teeth?

2. We want him to stay with....... in summer.

3.Mr. Smart is rich........ car is very expensive.

A pronoun is a part of speech that is used in place of a name. Not “Peter Vasilyevich”, but “he”, not “the author of these lines”, but “I”. Possessive pronouns, just like personal pronouns, allow you to make a message more concise. Compare: “Pyotr Vasilyevich’s shoes” and “his shoes.” in English, just like in Russian, they answer the questions “whose” (Whose?), “who belongs to?”.

This is my hat. - This is my hat.

Her cat trampled on my tulips! - Her cat trampled my tulips!

Your offer is very attractive, but I’ve already found the job. - Your offer is very attractive, but I have already found a job.

Types of pronouns

Possessive pronouns in English can be divided into two large groups depending on what grammatical form they take - absolute or relative. Pronouns in absolute form are quite independent, while relative pronouns cannot be used autonomously - only before a noun.

Compare:

This is my suitcase (This is my suitcase). - This suitcase is mine (This suitcase is mine).

As you can see, in the Russian language the form of the pronoun has not changed. In both cases we use the same word - “my”. However, these two sentences have different semantic emphasis. The second statement is more categorical. But it's not only that. An independent possessive pronoun is often necessary in order to simply not clutter up speech with unnecessary repetitions. For example, take this dialogue:

No, it is not my car. (No, this is not my car.).

And now another version of the same dialogue:

Is it your car? (This is your car?).

No, it is not mine. (No, not mine.).

And if two people know what they are talking about, then the dialogue may look even shorter.

Is it yours? (That is yours?).

No, it isn't mine. (No, not mine).

Relative possessive pronouns in English, as already mentioned, are used only before nouns. There are several subtleties: if there is a pronoun, then the article is no longer needed. The pronoun may be followed by another adjective. For example: my funny red ball - my funny ringing ball. However, there are two adjectives that are used before relative possessive pronouns: both (both) and all (all). For example: All my balls are red.

A summary table of pronouns in English is given below.

Main difficulties

Learning forms is usually not difficult, as are understanding and translating English texts. But when translating back, from Russian into English, some difficulties arise. For example, “I called him” and “that’s his hat.” It would seem that we see here two completely identical words - “him”. But can we translate them the same way? If you understand the essence of possessive pronouns well, then you will not get confused in this situation. The possessive pronoun is used here only in the second case. Whose hat is this? - His. That is - his. But in the sentence “I called him,” the pronoun in no way characterizes ownership. This is a pronoun in the genitive case, answering the question “who?” Therefore, here you need to use the pronoun he in the genitive case - him.

There is another common mistake. In the Russian language there is a universal pronoun “svoy”. There is no such thing in English, we will say instead of “ours” - her, instead of “ours” - theirs, and so on. And what is important, this pronoun in some cases replaces the definite article, especially before nouns meaning personal belongings, close people or parts of the body. For example, “He put on his glasses.” As you can see, we consider it unnecessary to point out that he was wearing his own glasses. This is implied. When constructing a phrase in English, we must use either a possessive pronoun before the word glasses. In this case, the pronoun will sound more natural. He puts on his glasses.

How to learn possessive pronouns in English

According to the advice of experienced teachers, learning grammar will not be difficult if you follow these rules: take your time, analyze all the grammar rules using examples, and compile tables yourself. In fact, pronouns are one of the simplest topics the English language contains. Exercises in which possessive pronouns are repeated in one form or another can be found in a wide variety of tasks. The main exercise for consolidating the above material, which is found in textbooks or tests, is sentences with missing words, where you need to insert the correct form of the possessive pronoun. In most cases, to master this topic, it is enough to complete 4-5 such exercises and analyze several texts.

: my, his, her, our, its, their, mine, ours, yours, his, hers, theirs.

1. Possessive pronouns in English also have categories of gender, number and person, as well as personal pronouns.
2. Possessive pronouns have two forms: independent (or absolute) and dependent (or combined).

Dependent form of possessive pronouns

The dependent form of possessive pronouns is used in cases where the pronoun stands before defined by a noun. In a sentence, it usually acts as a definition.

If you don't stop taking my toys, I will take your ones.

If you don't stop taking my toys, I'll take yours.

Their friend is the strongest in our class.

Their friend is the strongest in our class.

Independent form of possessive pronouns

The independent form of possessive pronouns is used in cases where there is no qualifying noun. In a sentence it can serve as a subject, predicate or object.

My pencil is broken, give me yours.

My pencil is broken, give me yours.

Whose computer is this? - It's mine.

WhoseThiscomputer? - My.

He is a friend of hers.

He's her friend.

1. Possessive pronouns in English are often used with body parts, items of clothing, and things belonging to a particular person. As a rule, in such cases they are not translated into Russian.

You should clean your teeth every day.

You should brush your teeth every day.

She always helps her mother with household duties.

She always helps her mother around the house.

The girl dropped her handkerchief and the boy picked it up.

The girl dropped her handkerchief and the boy picked it up.

English Joke

After just a few years of marriage, filled with constant arguments, a young man and his wife decided the only way to save their marriage was to try counseling. They had been at each other’s throat for some time and felt that this was their last straw. When they arrived at the counselor’s office, the counselor jumped right in and opened the floor for discussion.
"What seems to be the problem?"
Immediately, the husband held his long face down without anything to say. On the other hand, the wife began talking 90 miles an hour describing all the wrongs within their marriage. After 5 - 10 - 15 minutes of listening to the wife, the counselor went over to her, picked her up by her shoulders, kissed her passionately for several minutes, and sat her back down. Afterwards, the wife sat there speechless.
He looked over at the husband who was staring in disbelief at what had happened. The counselor spoke to the husband, “Your wife NEEDS that at least twice a week!”
The husband scratched his head and replied, “I can have her here on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

It would seem that there is nothing simpler than the pronouns: “I, you, he, she - together the whole country,” “You have yours, and I have mine.” But how to say this in English? In today's article we will look at the basic rules for using personal and possessive pronouns in English.

Personal pronouns in English

In English, a personal pronoun is used instead of a noun that we know or have already mentioned. This allows you to avoid repetitions in speech.

This is Jim. Jim is a policeman. Jim lives in New York. - This Jim. Jim police officer. Jim lives in New York.

Agree, there is too much Jim for three sentences. This is easy to fix if we combine the two sentences into one and replace the name Jim with the pronoun he (he).

This is Jim. He is a policeman and lives in New York. - This Jim. He police officer and lives in New York.

A personal pronoun can be:

1. Subject pronoun

   This pronoun is used in place of the subject in a sentence and denotes the one who performs the action. Subjective pronouns come before the verb and answer the questions “who?” So what?".

2. Object pronoun

   The pronoun is used in a sentence instead of an object, that is, the action is directed to it. Object pronouns come after the verb and answer the questions “whom?/what?”, “to whom?/what?”, “whom?/what?”, “by whom?/what?”, “about whom?” / about what?".

Personal pronouns instead of subject

The table below shows personal pronouns that are used in English instead of the subject.

Now let's look at some features of these pronouns:

• Pronoun I

  I is always written with a capital letter.

  I am a dreamer. - I dreamer.
  Mom says I can do it. - Mom says that I I can do it.

  If I is in a sentence next to another personal pronoun, then I is placed in second place.

  She and I are best friends. - We With her best friends.
  He and I played tennis together. - We With him played tennis.

• Pronouns he, she and it

  The pronouns he and she are used to refer to people. And to denote inanimate objects, phenomena and animals, the pronoun it is used.

  You know Jane. She is kind and modest. - You know Jane. She kind and modest.
  Did you see the new building yesterday? It is big. - Did you see the new building yesterday? It big.

  And if you treat your pet as a member of the family, when talking about him, you can use he or she rather than it.

  Your dog doesn't like me. It barks at me.
  - My dog ​​never barks at people. He's a good boy.
  - Your dog doesn't love me. He barks at me.
  - My dog ​​never barks at people. He good boy.

  The pronoun it is also used in impersonal sentences (in which there is no character) to describe weather, time, distance, etc.

  It's a quarter to nine. - It's fifteen minutes to nine now.
  It's foggy outside. - It's foggy outside.
  It's three kilometers between the villages. - The distance between the villages is three kilometers.

• Pronoun you

  You is translated as "you", "you" or "you" depending on the context, but agrees with the plural verb.

  You look good in this dress. - You you look good in this dress.
  You all are beautiful. - You everyone is beautiful.
  Mrs. Walmer, I think you will be a good nurse. - Mrs. Walmer, I think You you will be a good nurse.

Personal pronouns instead of objects

In the table we present personal pronouns that are used instead of an object and appear in a sentence after the verb.

Let's look at examples:

He will help me tomorrow. - He will help to me Tomorrow.
He told us the story. - He said us this story.

We also use these pronouns after the prepositions about, on, in, with, for and others.

Stay with us. - Stay with us.
I am doing this for her. - I'm doing it for her.

You can fix the topic and take tests in our articles “Personal pronouns in the English language” and “”.

Possessive adjectives and pronouns in English

In English there are two possessive forms:

1. Possessive adjectives
2. Possessive pronouns

Both forms denote that something belongs to someone and answer the question “whose?/whose?/whose?/whose?”

Although this article is about pronouns, we will also cover adjectives so you don't get them confused.

So what is the difference between a possessive adjective and a pronoun? A possessive adjective in English always comes before a noun and characterizes it.

This is my cup. - This my cup.
His phone is on the table. - His phone lies on the table.
Your music is annoying. - Your music annoys.

A possessive pronoun does not characterize a noun, but replaces the construction “possessive adjective + noun”. Most often, such pronouns appear at the end of a sentence.

Are those shoes mine? - Those shoes my?
It's their dog, and that is ours. - This is their dog, and this is - our.
My dress is prettier than yours. - My dress is more beautiful yours.
Her cake was better than theirs. - Her cake was tastier than their.

We can also use a possessive pronoun after a noun with the preposition of.

This is Ross. He is a friend of me my mine. - This is Ross. He my Friend.

Also, possessive adjectives and pronouns have other features that should be remembered:

• In English there is no pronoun corresponding to the Russian “svoy”. Therefore, we translate it according to the context using possessive adjectives or pronouns.

  I'll take my(possessive adjective) bag and you take yours(possessive pronoun). - I will take my (mine) bag, and you take it my (yours).

• The possessive adjective and the possessive pronoun its are written without an apostrophe. If you meet it's, then this is an abbreviation grammatical form: it’s = it + is.

  The cat played with its(possessive adjective) toy. - The cat was playing with his a toy.

• Formally, its exists as a possessive pronoun, but its use is avoided. It is used only with the pronoun own - its own (own, own).

  Each district of the city has the charm of its own(possessive pronoun). - Every district of the city has your own Charm.

We have also collected for you the personal and possessive pronouns of the English language in one diagram for clarity. You can use it as a cheat sheet.

We invite you to watch a funny video from the Looney Tunes cartoon series. In this episode you will see how desperately the drake Daffy Duck tries to get hunter Elmer Fudd to shoot Bugs Bunny the rabbit. But Daffy has one problem - he gets confused about pronouns.

Try taking a short test on the use of personal and possessive pronouns in English.

Test on the topic “Personal and possessive pronouns in English”

We hope that our article helped you understand the features of the correct use of personal and possessive pronouns in English. If you want to practice the rules you have learned using examples that you understand, go to one of them.

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