Possessive pronouns: what you learned
| Owner | Owning word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| me | my | my glove |
| you | your | your turn |
| one boy or man | his | his bike |
| one girl or woman | her | her hat |
| one animal or thing | its | its nest |
| me and somebody else | our | our fort |
| more than one other | their | their bikes |
Two ways to show owning
| With a naming word | With an owning word |
|---|---|
| Ava’s hat | her hat |
| Leo’s cup | his cup |
| the bird’s nest | its nest |
The left column needs an apostrophe. The right column does not.
Three things to keep straight
| What people write | What is right |
|---|---|
| her’s hat | her hat. Owning words take no mark. |
| The bird built it’s nest. | its nest. The mark version means it is. |
| Ava and Leo rode his bikes. | their bikes. Count the owners first. |
The it is test
Say “it is” in place of the word. “The bird built it is nest” makes no sense. So write “its” with no mark. “It is raining” makes sense. So write “it’s”.
Quick warm-up before the check
Choose the right word.
- “The girls packed (their / there) bags.”
- “The cat licked (its / it’s) paw.”
- “My brother forgot (his / him) lunch.”
Answers
- “their”
- “its”
- “his”
Now take the final check below.
Where to go next
- Possessive Nouns: the apostrophe rule these words do not follow
- Using He, She, It, and They: the matching pronouns for the naming part
- Using I and Me: the two pronouns for yourself
- Nouns: People, Places, Animals, and Things: the naming words themselves