Possessive determiners are words that indicate possession or ownership of a noun. They are placed before a noun to show that the noun belongs to someone or something. The most common possessive determiners in English are: ‘my’, ‘your’, ‘his’, ‘her’, ‘its’, ‘our’, and ‘their’. Possessive determiners are also called possessive adjectives since they modify a noun that comes after them.
Here are some examples of possessive determiners in sentences:
- That is my book.
- Your dog is very cute.
- His car is parked outside.
- Her dress is beautiful.
- Our school is very big.
- Their house is on the corner.
Possessive pronouns, on the other hand, replace a noun to indicate ownership or possession. Unlike possessive determiners, they do not modify a noun and can stand on their own. The most common possessive pronouns in English are: ‘mine’, ‘yours’, ‘his’, ‘hers’, ‘its’, ‘ours’, and ‘theirs’.
Here are some examples of possessive pronouns in sentences:
- The book is mine.
- Is this pen yours?
- That is his, not mine.
- The dress is hers.
- The car is ours.
- The house is theirs.
The main difference between possessive determiners and possessive pronouns is that possessive determiners modify a noun, while possessive pronouns replace a noun. Usually possessive determiners are placed before the noun. Possessive pronouns are usually found at the end of a sentence, clause or phrase.
