Use of possessive pronouns in English. Personal and possessive pronouns in English

Possessive pronouns (possessive pronouns) in English express belonging and answer the question whose? whose? For example: my - mine, your - yours etc.
They have two forms – dependent And independent. Possessive pronouns in the dependent form are sometimes called possessive pronouns-adjectives. Possessives in the independent form are sometimes called possessive pronouns-nouns.

*Note! Possessive pronoun its written without an apostrophe. With apostrophe ( it's) is written as an abbreviation for the phrase it is.

1. Possessive pronouns in dependent form are always used only in conjunction with corresponding nouns. not used in this case.

Examples:My dress is red. - My dress is red.
Our interview was interesting. – Our interview was interesting.

2. Possessive pronouns in independent form replace nouns with themselves, i.e. Nouns are never placed after this form. The article in this case, similarly as in the dependent form, is not used.

Examples: This is my cap. This cap is mine. - This is my cap. This cap is mine.
This is not her bag, hers is brown. - This is not her bag, it’s hers - brown.

3. When translating from Russian into English pronouns mine, there may be confusion because this pronoun can refer to all three persons, singular and plural. In order to correctly translate a pronoun, you need to pay attention to the person of the subject in the sentence.

Examples:I washed their hands. – I have washed my hands.
She washed their hands. – She has washed her hands.
I don't have a pen. You can you give me my(handle)? I have no pen. Can you give me yours?

4. In English possessive pronouns in dependent form are used more often than in Russian. They are used when the pronoun precedes the corresponding Russian nouns your(s) absent.

Examples: I told sister about it. –I told my sister about it.
He bought wife present. – He bought his wife a present.

It may seem like they are the same thing, but this is a deep misconception. We think that this probably should be the case, because in our native language the same word is used in two phrases with different meanings: “ his coat" and "meet his In the underground". But in English there are two different types of pronouns used here. Oh, how lucky we are with the Russian!

Objective and possessive pronouns in English. What is the difference?

Let's see what they look like first objective and possessive pronouns in English.

If we pay attention to examples of possessive pronouns in English, then we will see that they are found in pairs with nouns.

1. His father was very angry. – His father was very angry.

2. My pencil isn't broken. - My pencil is not broken.

3.Where are their children? -Where are their children?

4. We want to see our results! – We want to see our results!

5. Who is her husband? -Who is her husband?

6.What is your name? – What is your name? (literal translation)

The task of the so-called "object pronouns" to complete a verb (action), that is, to be an “object”. In other words, objective and possessive pronouns in English play different roles in a sentence.

Object pronouns in English table with examples

Nothing less than " object pronouns in English table with examples».

Object pronouns in English table showed us that in this case we are not talking about expressing the belonging of an object to something or someone. In such sentences, we clarify who or what the speaker’s action is directed at. It turns out something like this.

Possessive pronouns + noun

Verb + object pronouns

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Possessive pronouns go hand in hand with personal pronouns: every personal pronoun has a possessive. Possessive pronouns in English answer the question whose? (whose?), their function is to determine belonging. It is important to note that the absolute form of possessive pronouns in English is used to replace the noun itself, that is, the directly defined word. Let's look at the types of possessive pronouns and the features of their use.

The absolute form of possessive pronouns in English: a parallel with the basic form

Possessive pronouns are characterized by the presence of two forms => basic and absolute. The main form performs the function of definition and its task is to always come before the noun. The absolute form, which is the second, is used directly to replace the noun itself, that is, the word being defined.

So, from the table it is clear that possessive pronouns include such as my, your, his, her, its, our, their, mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs.

Examples

• Sarah decided to leave her job to find the better one => Sarah decided to leave her job to find a better one.
• Mr. Thompson took his shirt to see whether it will suit to his trousers => Mr. Thompson took his shirt to see if it would match his trousers.
• We really want to taste our cakes to see whether they are really so delicious as people say => We really want to try our cakes to see if they are really as tasty as people say.

The main task of possessive pronouns is to reflect belonging to something or the connection of objects

• My window is of white color and her is brown => My window is white, hers is brown.
• My pencils are sharp but his– not => My pencils are sharp, his are not.

Today we are studying the topic of absolute pronouns, but in order to understand the features of their use, let’s draw a parallel with pronouns in the attached form.

So, as we have already said, attached pronouns are necessarily used with a noun =>

• My rabbit is black and white => My rabbit is black and white.
• Your husband is so handsome I can’t stand but look at him! => Your husband is so handsome that I can’t help but look at him!
• Our plates are of yellow color while our neighbors decided to buy some of red color => Our plates are yellow, but our neighbors decided to buy some red.

Features of using the absolute form

From the examples it is clear that the basic form of possessives cannot be used without a noun, the meaning is lost and the sentence will not be correct. As for absolute pronouns, they are created in order to . Using the absolute form of possessive pronouns is convenient when you need to avoid repeating the subject being defined =>

• It is his pen => This is his pen.
• This pen is his => This pen is his.

Let's give examples with her - hers, since the pronoun his is the same in different forms.

• It is her car => This is her car.
• This car is hers=> This car is hers.

Another striking example =>

• Whose phone is it? —It's his/hers .
• Whose car is this? - This is his/hers.

(his/hers are used instead of his car/her car).

Important! Absolute pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, ours, yours, theirs) are intended to replace nouns

• What cats like to eat? => Mine likes Kitekat.
• What do cats like to eat? – Mine loves Kitekat.
• Mine use instead my cat.
• Are this mine? => Yes, it is yours.
• It is mine? - Yes, it's yours.

On a note! If we are talking about the possessive pronoun its, then it is important to remember that it must be used without an apostrophe. If you see the form it's, then this is a shortened version of the phrase it is.

Functions of possessive pronouns in absolute form

Possessive pronouns in absolute form serve several functions in a sentence. The functions are different and depend on the characteristics of the context. Let's look at some striking examples =>

1. As a subject

These are not her pencils. Hers are in her bag => These are not her pencils. She (be) in her bag.

Where is the lollipop? Yours is in fridge. It is too hot here => Where is the lollipop? Yours is in the refrigerator. It's very hot here.

1. In addition function

Our texts are better than yours(instead of your texts) => Our texts are better than yours.

Her shoes are much more glamorous than yours(instead of your shoes) => Her shoes are much more glamorous than yours.

1. As a function of the nominal part of the predicate

Whose chinchilla is this? – It is hers .

Whose chinchilla is this? - Her.

Whose red Maybach is it? – It is mine.

Whose red Maybach is this? - My.

Note! After the absolute form of the noun we we don't put it!

Let's sum it up

The absolute pronoun helps make speech simpler and easier without violating the meaning of the sentence. It is better to study possessive pronouns in absolute form in parallel with a topic that reveals the peculiarities of using the basic form of such pronouns. The topic is easy, and if you support the acquired knowledge with examples, you will understand it very quickly.

“I love him” and “I love his cat” - in Russian, the form of the personal pronoun answering the question “who?” is completely identical to the possessive pronoun answering the question “whose?”. It's not like that in English. Let's look at two types of pronouns that indicate a person, be it the object itself or the person who performs the action or on whom the action is performed, or who belongs to someone or something:

• Personal pronouns (who? what? whom? to whom? etc.)
• Possessive pronouns (whose?)

Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns are pronouns that indicate the subject, but do not name it, that is: I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they. We are lucky to have you. In English, personal pronouns have only two cases:

• Nominative – as in Russian, the nominative case is always only the subject;
• Objective - combines everything that in the Russian language would be expressed by all other cases except the nominative.

It is important to remember that in English there is no pronoun “you”. There was once a pronoun in English, “thou,” which can sometimes be intimidating to those who open a volume of Shakespeare for the first time in their lives. But this is just a harmless “you.” It is not currently used. Instead, we have long used “you,” which comes from ye – you (plural). That is, before it was both you - thou, and you - ye. In the end, only “you” remained. Therefore, every time you use the pronoun “you,” you are addressing the person with you. It’s not for nothing that they say that the British are the most polite nation in the world.

It is important to note that some languages ​​also have an indefinite personal pronoun that replaces an arbitrary subject regardless of gender - for example, French. on and it. man. In English, this pronoun is “one.” For example, one doesn’t have to know everything in order to succeed.

Possessive pronouns

These pronouns qualify the noun and answer the questions “whose, whose, whose.”
Possessive pronouns have two forms

The possessive pronoun cannot be used alone in its defining function. It always accompanies a noun. And, conversely, the possessive pronoun in the function of a noun is always used separately and is most often used in order to avoid tautology:
I know her address, tell me his.(His = his + address)
This is his cars and that’s ours.(Ours = our + car)

Pay attention to the strict correspondence between the use of possessive and personal pronouns.
She took her bag and left.(She took her bag and left.)
The students wanted to see their papers.(The students wanted to see their work.)

With nouns denoting parts of the body, items of clothing, relatives, as a rule, possessive pronouns are used rather than the definite article.
Close your eyes. Put on your hat. This is my sister.

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ex. 1 Replace the highlighted words with personal pronouns.
Example: Pete lives here. I saw Pete yesterday. -> He lives here. I saw him yesterday.

1. Alice is my girlfriend. I love Alice.
2. Jane and I saw Mark but Mark didn't see Jane and me.
3. I told Steve and Carol to come.
4. My parents liked the cat and bought the cat.
5. Why are the books on the table? Put the books on the shelf.
6. It's a nice bird. Listen how lovely the bird is singing.
7. Your friend and you are late again.
8. My sister and I are great friends.
9. I haven't seen Pete and Alex today.
10. Steve and Mark have invited my friend and me to the cinema.

ex. 2 Change the highlighted sentences or parts of sentences according to the example.

Example: This is not my pen. I want my pen. -> I want mine.

1. This is my girlfriend and that's his girlfriend.
2. Their street is not as busy as our street.
3. These are my children and those are her children.
4. My flat is smaller than their flat.
5. It's not your umbrella. It's my umbrella.
6. My telephone doesn't work. Can I use your telephone?

ex. 3Fill in the blanks with pronouns.

1. How many times a day do you brush....teeth?

2. We want him to stay with....... in summer.

3.Mr. Smart is rich........ car is very expensive.