Examples of possessive pronouns in English. Him or His? Object and possessive pronouns in English

Possessive pronouns go hand in hand with personal pronouns: every personal pronoun has a possessive. Possessive pronouns in English answer the question whose? (whose?), their function is to determine belonging. It is important to note that the absolute form of possessive pronouns in English is used to replace the noun itself, that is, the directly defined word. Let's look at the types of possessive pronouns and the features of their use.

The absolute form of possessive pronouns in English: a parallel with the basic form

Possessive pronouns are characterized by the presence of two forms => basic and absolute. The main form performs the function of definition and its task is to always come before the noun. The absolute form, which is the second, is used directly to replace the noun itself, that is, the word being defined.

Basic form (serves as a modifier of a noun)	Absolute form (serves as a direct replacement for a noun)
Single
My (my, mine, mine, mine) =>	Mine (my, mine, mine, mine)
Your (yours, yours, yours, yours) =>	Yours (yours, yours, yours, yours)
His (his) =>	His (him)
Her =>	Hers (her)
Its (his, her) =>	Its (his, her)
Plural
Our (our, ours, ours, ours) =>	Ours (our, ours, ours)
Your (yours, yours, yours, yours) =>	Yours (yours, yours, yours, yours)
Their =>	Theirs

So, from the table it is clear that possessive pronouns include such as my, your, his, her, its, our, their, mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs.

Examples

Sarah decided to leave her job to find the better one => Sarah decided to leave her job to find a better one.
Mr. Thompson took his shirt to see whether it will suit to his trousers => Mr. Thompson took his shirt to see if it would match his trousers.
We really want to taste our cakes to see whether they are really so delicious as people say => We really want to try our cakes to see if they are really as tasty as people say.

The main task of possessive pronouns is to reflect belonging to something or the connection of objects

My window is of white color and her is brown => My window white, hers is brown.
My pencils are sharp but his– not => My pencils are sharp, his are not.

Today we are studying the topic of absolute pronouns, but in order to understand the features of their use, let’s draw a parallel with pronouns in the attached form.

So, as we have already said, attached pronouns are necessarily used with a noun =>

My rabbit is black and white => My rabbit is black and white.
Your husband is so handsome I can’t stand but look at him! => Your husband is so handsome that I can’t help but look at him!
Our plates are of yellow color while our neighbors decided to buy some of red color => Our plates are yellow, but our neighbors decided to buy some red.

Features of using the absolute form

From the examples it is clear that the basic form of possessives cannot be used without a noun, the meaning is lost and the sentence will not be correct. As for absolute pronouns, they are created in order to . Using the absolute form of possessive pronouns is convenient when you need to avoid repeating the subject being defined =>

It is his pen => This is his pen.
This pen is his => This pen is his.

Let's give examples with her - hers, since pronoun his is the same in different forms.

It is her car => This is her car.
This car is hers=> This car is hers.

Another striking example =>

Whose phone is it? —It's his/hers .
Whose car is this? - This is his/hers.

(his/hers are used instead of his car/her car).

Important! Absolute pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, ours, yours, theirs) are intended to replace nouns

What cats like to eat? => Mine likes Kitekat.
What do cats like to eat? – Mine loves Kitekat.
Mine use instead my cat.
Are this mine? => Yes, it is yours.
It is mine? - Yes, it's yours.

On a note! If we are talking about the possessive pronoun its, then it is important to remember that it must be used without an apostrophe. If you see the form it's, then this is a shortened version of the phrase it is.

Functions of possessive pronouns in absolute form

Possessive pronouns in absolute form serve several functions in a sentence. The functions are different and depend on the characteristics of the context. Let's look at some striking examples =>

As a subject

These are not her pencils. Hers are in her bag => These are not her pencils. She (be) in her bag.

Where is the lollipop? Yours is in fridge. It is too hot here => Where is the lollipop? Yours is in the refrigerator. It's very hot here.

In addition function

Our texts are better than yours(instead of your texts) => Our texts are better than yours.

Her shoes are much more glamorous than yours(instead of your shoes) => Her shoes are much more glamorous than yours.

As a function of the nominal part of the predicate

Whose chinchilla is this? – It is hers .

Whose chinchilla is this? - Her.

Whose red Maybach is it? – It is mine.

Whose red Maybach is this? - My.

Note! After the absolute form of the noun we we don't put it!

Let's sum it up

The absolute pronoun helps make speech simpler and easier without violating the meaning of the sentence. It is better to study possessive pronouns in absolute form in parallel with a topic that reveals the peculiarities of using the basic form of such pronouns. The topic is easy, and if you support the acquired knowledge with examples, you will understand it very quickly.

As you know, all parts of speech are divided into independent and auxiliary. As in Russian, pronouns in English belong to an independent part of speech, which denotes an object or is a sign of it, but does not directly name persons and objects. These words do not name relationships and properties, do not give spatial or temporal characteristics.

Pronouns (Pronouns) in English replace a noun, which is why they are called “in place of a name” - He, you, it. These words can also be used instead of an adjective - Such, that, these. As in Russian, so in English, there are a lot of such lexical units, but it is necessary to know them and use them correctly. Therefore, let’s move on directly to the study.

According to their meaning, Pronouns can be classified into several groups. I suggest you familiarize yourself with this classification and the characteristics of each group:

Personal are the most important and most common pronouns. In a sentence they act as the subject. And the word "I (I)" is always written in capital letters, regardless of whether it is at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence. And the pronoun you (you, you) expresses both the plural and the singular.

It should also be remembered that lexemes he (he) and she (she) used if they want to designate an animate person, and it- to designate animals, abstract concepts and inanimate objects. A "they" used both in relation to inanimate objects and animate persons.

Personal pronouns in English are declined according to cases. In the case when they act as the subject of a sentence, they are in nominative case, and when they serve as a complement - in the object form. To make it clearer for you, please study the table

Face	Nominative		Objective case
	Singular
1	I	I	me	me, me
2	you	You	you	you, you
3	he	He	him	him, his
	she	she	her	her, her
	it	it, he, she	it	his, her, him, her
	Plural
1	we	We	us	us, us
2	you	You	you	you, you
3	they	They	them	them, them

Possessive pronouns

English possessive pronouns (Possessive) we discussed in detail in the previous article. But let me remind you that they express belonging, have two forms - adjective and noun, and answer the question “Whose?” and do not change in numbers. There is also a special absolute form. Look at the table showing how Possessive Pronouns are inclined:

pronouns
form	personal	possessive	absolute
Unit number	I he she it	my his her its	mine is mine his hers its his/her
Plural number	we you they	our your their	ours ours yours yours theirs

Demonstrative pronouns in English

Demonstrative or demonstrative - point to a person or object. Demonstrative pronouns in English do not change by gender, but are declined by number, that is, they have singular and plural forms. Wherein " this" refers to an object that is located next to the speaker, and the word " that" indicates an object located at a considerable distance.

In addition, “that” can be translated into Russian as “this, this.” Demonstrative pronouns in English in a sentence can serve as subject, object, modifier or noun.

Reflexive pronouns in English

Reflexive or reflexive - express a reflexive meaning, show that the action is directed at the actor himself, therefore, reflexive pronouns in English in a sentence correspond in form to the subject.

Their distinctive feature is that they end with "- self"singular or "- selves" in plural)". In Russian, this is the verbal suffix “-sya (-s)” or the pronoun “yourself (yourself, yourself, yourself)”: He cut himself - He cut himself

Singular		Plural
myself		ourselves
yourself		yourselves	yourself (yourself)
himself	yourself (himself)	themselves
herself
itself
oneself indefinite form

Indefinite pronouns in English

Indefinite is one of the largest groups of English pronouns. Nouns and adjectives can be substituted in sentences. Indefinite pronouns in English can be divided into words formed from “no” (no, not at all), “any” (any, several, a little) and “some” (several, a little).

no		any		some
nobody/nobody	nobody	anyone/anybody	somebody/anyone, whoever	someone/somebody	someone/anyone
nothing	nothing	anything	something/anything, anything	something	anything
nowhere	nowhere	anywhere	somewhere/anywhere, anywhere/somewhere	somewhere	somewhere
		anyhow	somehow/somehow, whatever	somehow	somehow/somehow
		any day/any time	whenever	some time/some day	some day

Other Indefinite Pronouns include: every, each, both, all, few, little, many, much.

Interrogative pronouns in English

Interrogatives are very similar to relatives, but perform completely different functions in a sentence where they are the subject, adjective or object: Who is there? - Who's there? Sometimes they can be a nominal part of the predicate. Interrogative pronouns in English are also called "question words":

who? - Who?
which? - which?
whom? - whom? to whom?
where? - Where?
what? - What?
whose? - whose?
when? - When?
why? - Why?

Other pronouns

We dwelled in more detail on the main and more numerous pronouns, but there are other groups of pronouns in English:

Universal: all, both, everyone, everybody, everything, every, either, each
Dividers: another, other
Negative: no, nobody, nothing, no one, neither, none
Relative: that, which, whose, who

To make your speech in a foreign language expressive, correct and varied, and also to learn to understand what other people say (write), you need to know English pronouns. The table (and more than one) will be presented in this article with the necessary explanations to facilitate the assimilation of grammatical material.

What is a pronoun and what is it for?

This part of speech is used in any language to avoid tautology, enliven dry statements, and also make them more logical. Pronouns in English are called Pronouns, which translates as “instead of nouns.”

This service component functions as a substitute for those parts of speech that have already been mentioned in spoken or written text. Nouns and adjectives can be replaced, and a little less often - adverbs and numerals. Pronouns help us maintain consistency and clarity in the presentation of thoughts, but at the same time not repeat ourselves, naming the same people, objects, phenomena, signs, etc. again.

What are the pronouns in English?

English pronouns, like Russians, vary in person, gender and number. In addition, they must be consistent with the part of speech that they replace. For example, agreement based on gender: girl (girl) - she (she). In the same way, agreement is carried out in numbers: boys (boys) - they (they).

Now let's take a closer look at what each variety is and how this functional part of speech manages to simplify English.

Personal Pronouns

They get their name because they replace nouns - animate and inanimate. There are seven of them in total.

I - I;
you - you (you);
he - he;
she - she;
it - it;
we - we;
they - they.

Please note the following features:

1. You is used in both singular and plural. It is translated accordingly: “you”, “You” (addressing one person) or “you” (addressing a group of people).

2. It denotes not only inanimate objects, but also animals.

The above personal pronouns are given in the nominative case. But what if you need to say: “to you”, “me”, “about us”, etc.? What is conveyed in Russian by other cases (dative, genitive, prepositional, etc.), in English is called in one word - the subject case. Such pronouns replace words that are not the subject of a sentence. The correspondence table is presented below.

Who? What?	Whom? What? To whom? Why? By whom? How? About whom? About what?
	me - me, me, me, etc.
	you - you (you), by you (you), etc.
	him - to him, him, etc.
	her - to her, her, etc.
	it - to him, his, etc.
	us - us, us, etc.
	them - theirs, them, etc.

Start practicing using the subject case once you thoroughly understand and learn the nominative forms. Otherwise, you simply risk getting confused. In general, remembering pronouns is quite simple, and the more often you practice foreign language, the more confident you will become in speaking.

Possessive Pronouns

This group is the second most frequently used. But don't be afraid when you see new English pronouns. The table below shows the correspondence between personal and possessive types.

Personal pronoun	Possessive pronoun

you - you (you)	your - yours (yours)

As you can see, almost all pronouns have the same base, and the differences are most often only in one letter.

It is recommended to learn and practice in exercises first personal pronouns, then possessive ones, and then practice in mixed tests, where you need to choose the option that is appropriate in meaning and grammar: you or your, etc. This way you will firmly understand everything and will never confuse these two superficially similar groups.

Demonstrative Pronouns

We continue to study pronouns in English and now move on to the variety that helps to navigate in space, to show a certain object, direction and place. They do not change according to persons and genders, but they have singular and forms. Further in the table you will see English demonstrative pronouns with translation.

For example, if there is a picture hanging on the wall in the distance, then they say about it: That is a picture. And if there are pencils on the table nearby, it can be indicated as follows: These are pencils.

This group of auxiliary parts of speech has another function. They can replace individual words or even entire expressions. This is done to avoid repetitions. For example: Air quality in the village is better than that in the city - Air quality in the village is better than (air quality) in the city.

Relative Pronouns

This variety can often be found in complex sentences to connect the main and subordinate parts. Such an English pronoun with translation and understanding of foreign speech can create difficulties. Therefore, you need to understand this issue well. The following relative pronouns exist:

that - that, which (used to denote both animate and inanimate objects);
which - which (only to designate objects or phenomena);
who - who, which (indicates only people);
whom - to whom, who, whom (in spoken language does not occur, is used only in official speech as a speech cliche).

Interrogative Pronouns

As you might guess, this type is used in interrogative sentences. If you are already familiar with the topic “Special Questions,” then you know these English pronouns well. All of them are notable for the fact that they begin with the letter wh:

what? - What? Which? which?
which? - Which? which (of the two)?
who? - Who?
whom? - to whom? whom?
whose? - whose?

Sometimes the suffix -ever can be added to them, and then the combinations whatever (any, whatever), whoever (any, anyone), etc. are obtained.

Please pay Special attention for the following features.

Who is used in the singular and implies verb form is, as well as the ending -s in the present simple tense.

Who is there? Who likes this film?

The exception is when a plural personal pronoun is used (you, we, they), if the answer involves naming several people, objects, phenomena, etc.

Who of you live in this house? - We do. (Which of you lives in this house? - We.)

(Indefinite Pronouns)

Situations often arise when information is not entirely clear, or the speaker is not sure of its veracity. For such cases, there is a special group of function words. Next you can see all the indefinite English pronouns with translation.

Animate objects	Inanimate objects
anybody, anyone - anyone, anyone	anything - anything, anything
everybody, everyone - everyone, everyone	everything - everything
no one, nobody - no one	nothing - nothing, nothing
someone - someone	something - something
other - different either - any (when choosing from two) neither - not one (when choosing from two) each - each

Please note that all pronouns listed in the table refer to the singular (even if translated into Russian they mean many objects or people).

The plural of indefinite pronouns is represented by the following words:

any - any;
both - both;
several - several;
others - others, the rest;
many - few;
few - few.

Reflexive Pronouns

Used to denote actions that are performed on oneself. These English pronouns are related to the varieties you already know - personal and possessive. Only in this case the particle -self (singular) or -selves (plural) is added.

(I) I - myself;
(you) you - yourself;
(he) he - himself;
(she) she - herself;
(it) it - itself (about animals and inanimate objects);
(we) we - ourselves;
(you) you - yourselves;
(they) they - themselves.

How to translate This is most clear with examples.

Sometimes it can be translated as “yourself”, “yourself”, etc.

“Why?”, she asked herself - “Why?” - she asked herself.

We arranged a great holiday for ourselves - We arranged a great vacation for ourselves.

In some cases, it is possible to translate such pronouns with reflexive particles -sya and -sya.

A cat washed itself - The cat washed itself.

Where are you hiding yourself? -Where are you hiding?

In cases where the fact that the action was performed by someone independently is emphasized, reflexive pronouns can be translated with the words “himself”, “herself”, etc.

He has built this house himself - He built this house himself.

Reciprocal Pronouns

This variety includes only two representatives: each other and one another. They are synonyms.

Such pronouns are used in cases where two objects perform the same action directed at each other.

We love each other - We love each other.

They hugged and kissed one another - They hugged and kissed.

On Christmas day the friends gave each other presents - On Christmas, friends gave each other gifts.

In cases where it is necessary to designate a group of people performing the same action in relation to each other, it is necessary to use the form one another. For example:

We are a united family and always help one another. - We are a friendly family and always help each other.

People of different generations have difficulties in understanding one another - People of different generations have difficulty understanding each other.

This is what the pronoun system looks like in English. There is nothing complicated in it, since some groups of function words are formed from others: reflexive and possessive - from personal, reciprocal - from indefinite, etc.

Having studied and understood the theory, start practicing various types exercises. The more often you do this, the sooner you will achieve a noticeable result: you will begin to use English pronouns in your speech without hesitation.

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

Possessive pronouns in English also have categories of gender, number and person, as well as personal pronouns.
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.

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.

Whose computer is this? - It's mine.

WhoseThiscomputer? - My.

He is a friend of hers.

He's her friend.

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.

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.”