Possessive Pronouns: My, Your, His, Her, Its, Their

Using My, Your, and Our

My, your, and our

Three of these words are about you and the people you are talking to.

  • my means it belongs to me
  • your means it belongs to you
  • our means it belongs to me and somebody else

“My glove is missing.”

“Is this your glove?”

“Our team won.”

When to use our

Use “our” when you are one of the owners and somebody else is too.

Who owns itWordExample
just memymy desk
me and my brotherourour room
the person I am talking toyouryour coat

Read the middle row. Two people own the room, and one of them is you, so “our” is the word.

My works with I

Notice that “I” and “my” are a pair. One names you and the other shows what belongs to you.

“I lost my glove.”

Both words in one sentence, doing different jobs. “I” is the naming part. “my” shows who owns the glove.

A mistake to watch for

Do not use “me” as an owning word.

“me glove is missing” is wrong.

“My glove is missing.” is right.

The word “me” is for when something happens to you. The word “my” is for owning.

Your turn

Which owning word fits?

  1. “____ shoes are wet.” (they belong to me)
  2. “Is this ____ pencil?” (it belongs to the person I am talking to)
  3. “____ class went to the farm.” (me and my classmates)

Check your answers

  1. “My shoes are wet.”
  2. “Is this your pencil?”
  3. “Our class went to the farm.”

Remember

  • My means it belongs to me.
  • Your means it belongs to the person you are talking to.
  • Our means it belongs to me and somebody else.