What Are Possessive Adjectives? (with Examples)
The possessive adjectives are my, your, his, her, its, our, their, and whose. A possessive adjective sits before a noun (or a pronoun) to show who or what owns it.
NB: Since the 1960s, possessive adjectives have increasingly being called "possessive determiners." Both terms are still in common use. "Possessive adjective" is currently about twice as popular as "possessive determiner."
Easy Examples of Possessive Adjectives
In the examples below, the possessive adjectives are shaded.
She likes your hat.
(The possessive adjective "your" sits before the noun "hat" to tell us who owns it.)
I think her dog has eaten my gerbil.
(The possessive adjectives "her" and "my" are sitting before (or modifying as it's called) the nouns "dog" and "gerbil" to tell us who owns them.)
Real-Life Examples of Possessive Adjectives
In the examples below, the possessive adjectives are shaded and the nouns being modified are bold. The table also shows how each possessive adjective corresponds to a personal pronoun.
| Personal Pronoun | Possessive Adjective | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | my | I do not choose that my grave should be dug while I am still alive. (Queen Elizabeth I) |
| you | your | If you want peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies. (South African cleric Desmond Tutu) |
| he | his | If a man could have half of his wishes, he would double his troubles. (Founding Father Benjamin Franklin) |
| she | her | She got her looks from her father. He's a plastic surgeon. (Comedian Groucho Marx) |
| it | its | Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow. It only saps today of its joy. (Author Leo Buscaglia) |
| we | our | How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. (Author Annie Dillard) |
| they | their | Men are like steel. When they lose their temper, they lose their worth. (Martial artist Chuck Norris) |
| who | whose | The key is to keep company only with people whose presence calls forth your best. (Greek philosopher Epictetus) |
