Pronouns: Mine, Yours, Theirs | English Grammar Guide for French Students

• 1 Stand alone without a following noun
• 2 Show ownership or possession
• 3 Function as nouns in sentences
• 4 Can be subjects, objects, or complements

1 Mine is the independent possessive pronoun for "my"
2 It means "that which belongs to me"
3 It stands alone and doesn't need a following noun
4 Used when the object is understood from context

• 1 "This book is mine." (This book is my book)
• 2 "Is this pen yours or mine?"
• 3 "Mine is the red car." (My car is the red car)
• 4 "Your idea is good, but mine is better." (my idea is better)

1 Yours is the independent possessive pronoun for "your"
2 It means "that which belongs to you"
3 It stands alone and doesn't need a following noun
4 Used for both singular and plural "you"

• 1 "This car is yours." (This car is your car)
• 2 "Is this your book or yours?" (yours = your book)
• 3 "Yours is the blue house." (Your house is the blue house)
• 4 "Thank you for your help. Yours truly." (signing a letter)

1 Theirs is the independent possessive pronoun for "their"
2 It means "that which belongs to them"
3 It stands alone and doesn't need a following noun
4 Used for plural subjects (they)

• 1 "The house is theirs." (The house is their house)
• 2 "Their car is red, but theirs is blue." (their car is blue)
• 3 "This idea is theirs." (This idea belongs to them)
• 4 "Theirs was the best project in the class." (Their project was the best)

1 Mine: "This book is mine"
2 Yours: "Is this pen yours?"
3 Theirs: "The house is theirs"
4 These pronouns stand alone and replace the noun

1 My: "This is my book"
2 Your: "Is this your pen?"
3 Their: "Their house is beautiful"
4 These adjectives come before the noun they modify

Personal Pronoun	Attributive Possessive	Independent Possessive
I	my	mine
you	your	yours
he	his	his
she	her	hers
it	its	its
we	our	ours
they	their	theirs

• 1 "His" and "its" are the same in both forms (no apostrophe)
• 2 All others add -s to the attributive form (my → mine, your → yours)
• 3 "Its" does not have an apostrophe (unlike "it's" which means "it is")

1 Yours is more expensive than mine
2 Theirs was the largest project compared to ours
3 His idea is different from hers
4 These constructions avoid repetition of nouns

1 Mine specifically, not anyone else's
2 Yours in particular, as opposed to others
3 Theirs especially, among all options
4 Used for emphasis and distinction

• 1 Confusing "it's" with "its": "it's" means "it is", while "its" shows possession
• 2 Using attributive forms where independent forms are needed: "This is my" instead of "This is mine"
• 3 Adding articles before independent possessive pronouns: "This is the mine" (incorrect)
• 4 Using "his" and "its" incorrectly (they don't change form)

1 ✓ Correct: "This book is mine"
2 ✗ Incorrect: "This book is my"
3 ✓ Correct: "The car is theirs"
4 ✗ Incorrect: "The car is their"

1. This pen is _______. (I)

2. Is this your book or _______? (I)

3. The red car is _______. (you)

4. _______ is the smallest house on the street. (we)

5. The project was _______ idea. (they)

6. _______ was the best presentation in the class. (he)

7. _______ is more expensive than _______. (yours/mine)

8. The house belongs to them, so it is _______. (they)

9. _______ book is different from _______. (my/your)

10. _______ is the newest model available. (she)

1. mine

2. mine

3. yours

4. Ours

5. Theirs

6. His

7. Yours/mine

8. theirs

9. My/yours

10. Hers

1 English: Uses independent possessive pronouns that stand alone
2 French: Uses "le mien, la tienne, les leurs" (article + possessive)
3 English: No gender agreement required for possessive pronouns
4 French: Gender and number agreement required (le mien, la mienne, les miens, les miennes)

• 1 English possessive pronouns don't change for gender or number
• 2 "His" and "its" don't have apostrophes (unlike French "à lui", "à elle")
• 3 Practice distinguishing between attributive and independent forms
• 4 Remember that "it's" means "it is", not possession

1 For most pronouns: Add -s to the attributive form (my → mine, your → yours)
2 Remember the exceptions: his, hers, its, theirs (no change pattern)
3 Stand-alone rule: Independent pronouns never come before nouns
4 Context clue: Look for situations where the noun is understood

• 1 Practice with real objects around you
• 2 Create sentences comparing possessions
• 3 Read English texts to see natural usage patterns
• 4 Focus on the difference between "it's" and "its"

• Independent possessive pronouns stand alone without following nouns
• Most add -s to the attributive form (my → mine, your → yours)
• They replace the noun phrase completely
• They can function as subjects, objects, or complements
• Special cases: his, hers, its, theirs don't follow the pattern

Remember: Independent pronouns stand alone - they don't need a noun after them!

• Start with the most common: mine, yours, theirs
• Practice distinguishing between attributive and independent forms
• Pay special attention to "it's" vs "its"