There are two type of possessive pronouns. The first type is used with nouns my, your (singular), his, her, your (plural), its, their and our. The other type of pronouns is sometimes called independent possessive pronouns, because they can stand alone. They are mine, yours (singular), his, hers, ours, yours (plural) and theirs. The possessive pronouns show that something (or someone) belongs to someone (or something). Unlike other pronouns, the possessive words, such as mine, my, yours, his, hers, her, its, theirs, etc., cannot be used in place of a noun or another pronoun. Rather, they are used with nouns to make identifications or indicate ownerships.

Examples:

• These books are his.
• The shirt is mine.
• Ours were traded
• It’s their house.

Note: The possessive case takes two forms.

• One form precedes the noun it modifies (This is my shirt)
• The other form stands alone (The shirt is mine)