My or Mine?

Grammar

My or Mine?

Possessive adjectives and pronouns: say whose things they are.

A1–A2 · 20 minutes

Created by , British English teacher.

Your goal: Use my, your and her before a noun, and mine, yours and hers when the noun is already clear.

Try the activities, then check your answers.

1. Is there a noun after it?

MY + a noun

This is my bag.

Bag names the thing. My tells you whose bag it is.

MINE stands alone

This bag is mine.

Mine means my bag here. We do not repeat bag after mine.

Quick choice: my book, but the book is mine. Use my before the noun and mine when the thing is already clear.

The first group is often called possessive adjectives or possessive determiners. The second group is called possessive pronouns. You can learn the patterns without memorising those names.

Try it, then check

“This is ___ pen.” Choose my or mine.

My. The noun pen follows it.

Choose one complete possessive form

her baghers

Hers already expresses possession. Write hers without an apostrophe, and do not put bag after it in this pattern.

Listen: whose things are these?

Listen for the words before a noun, then the words that replace the whole noun phrase.

Amanda · American English. Follow the owner in the conversation. Mine, yours and ours can each refer to one thing or several things.

Amanda · English (United States)

Model transcript and listening guidance

Two notebooks: Is this your notebook? No, mine is green. The blue notebook is hers. This green one is mine. Thank you. Is that his bag? Yes, it is his.

Keys and a table: Whose keys are these? They are yours. My keys are in my bag. Is this our table? Yes, this table is ours. Their table is near the window.

Listening guidance: My notebook includes a noun. Mine replaces my notebook. Your keys includes a noun; yours replaces your keys. Our table includes a noun; ours stands alone.

Preserved lesson scene for This is my bag. People and essential props isolated on white.
This is my bag.My stays before the noun bag.

2. Match the owner to the right pair

Before a noun or on its own
OwnerBefore a nounOn its own
Imy bagThe bag is mine.
youyour bagThe bag is yours.
hehis bagThe bag is his.
sheher bagThe bag is hers.
weour bagsThe bags are ours.
theytheir bagsThe bags are theirs.

His has the same form in both places: his coat and the coat is his.

Choose the word for the owner: Anna has a bike. It is her bike. The bike does not decide between his and her.

The form does not change when there are several things: my bag / my bags; the bag is mine / the bags are mine. Change is to are to match the things.

What about it?

Use its + noun: “The dog is eating its food.” In ordinary beginner English, we do not use its alone in the same way as mine or yours. Repeat the noun if needed.

Follow the notebooks in the first conversation

The speaker’s green notebookThis green one is mine.

Mine replaces my notebook.

The other person’s blue notebookThe blue notebook is hers.

Hers replaces her notebook.

The object stays the same; the speaker changes

Your friend speaksAre these your books?

Your friend is asking about the books belonging to you.

You answerYes, they are mine.

You are now the speaker. Mine means my books here.

Mine can replace a phrase about one thing or several things. It does not change to match the number of books.

3. Ask whose, then give a short answer

Useful questions and answers
QuestionAnswer
Whose notebook is this?It is mine.
Is this your coat?Yes, it is mine.
Are these your keys?No, they are hers.
Whose shoes are these?They are his.

Whose asks about the owner. Who’s means who is or who has, so it is a different question word. When someone asks Is this your pen?, you can answer Yes, it is mine. The word changes because a different person is speaking.

One thing

“Whose bag is this?”

“It is ours.”

One bag can belong to more than one person.

Several things

“Whose keys are these?”

“They are mine.”

Several things can belong to one person.

Practise the change of speaker

Your friend asks: “Are these your books?” They belong to you. Answer aloud.

Yes, they are mine. Your becomes mine because you are now speaking about yourself.

4. Keep the spelling simple

These possessive pronouns have no apostrophe: yours, hers, ours, theirs.

Common repairs
AvoidUseReason
mine bookmy bookMy goes before the noun.
This book is my.This book is mine.Mine stands alone.
The keys are her’s.The keys are hers.Hers has no apostrophe.
This is the my bag.This is my bag.Do not put the before my in this pattern.

It’s means it is or it has. Its shows a connection or possession before a noun: It’s a new phone. Its screen is bright.

Before finishing, ask: Who is the owner? Is there a noun after the word?

Optional next step: a friend of mine

“Sam is a friend of mine” means Sam is one of my friends. Learn it as a useful extra phrase. The basic choice is still my friend or a friend of mine.

Repair and explain

Try each repair aloud or in writing before opening the answer.

Repair: “This is mine jacket.”

Check the repair

This is my jacket.

My comes before a noun. You could also say: This jacket is mine.

Repair: “The red bag is her’s.”

Check the repair

The red bag is hers.

The possessive pronoun hers has no apostrophe.

The keys belong to you. Answer your friend: “Are these your keys?” Repair: “Yes, they are my.”

Check the repair

Yes, they are mine.

Mine replaces my keys. There is no noun after it.

Preserved lesson scene for This bag is mine. People and essential props isolated on white.
This bag is mine.Mine replaces my bag, so the noun is not repeated after it.

Mastery quiz

Choose one answer for each question. Check your answers, read the explanations, then retry any you missed.

1. This is ___ phone.
2. This phone is ___.
3. The bike belongs to Anna. It is ___ bike.
4. Tom owns the coat. The coat is ___.
5. We share this table. This table is ___.
6. The bags belong to them. Choose the correct spelling.
7. Your friend asks: “Is this your pen?” It belongs to you. Answer…
8. ___ keys are these? I want to know the owner.
9. Choose the correct sentence about several books you own.
10. Choose both: “___ a new phone. ___ screen is bright.”

Full answer key with explanations
  1. my. My goes before the noun phone.
  2. mine. Mine replaces my phone.
  3. her. Her comes before the noun bike.
  4. his. His can stand alone as a possessive pronoun.
  5. ours. Ours stands alone and means our table here.
  6. theirs. Theirs is a possessive pronoun with no apostrophe.
  7. Yes, it is mine. Mine means it belongs to you, the speaker.
  8. Whose. Whose asks about possession or connection.
  9. These books are mine. Mine can refer to one thing or several things.
  10. It’s; its. It’s means it is. Its shows the connection before screen.

Put it into practice

Describe four things in an imaginary lost-property box. Include my or your before a noun, mine or yours alone, one example with his or hers, and a whose question.

Self-check: Circle each owner word. Check whether a noun follows it. Check is/are and remove apostrophes from possessive pronouns.

Compare with a model

This is my bag. The green notebook is mine. The blue coat is hers. Whose keys are these? Are they yours?