Micro-listening
Possessive Determiners: Choose the Right Form
The short answer
A possessive determiner shows who something belongs to or is connected with. My refers to the speaker, your to the listener, and our to the speaker and others. His and her refer to individuals; its refers to a thing, animal, or organization. Their can refer to several people or to one person, including someone whose gender is unknown.
Key points
- To choose the correct possessive determiner, determine who owns or connects to the item, choose the matching form, and place it directly before the noun.
- The determiner stays the same whether the noun is singular or plural.
- Never use an apostrophe for possessive its, and never attach articles like the before your determiner.
This lesson has 5 stages. You can stop at any time and continue later.
Stage 1 of 5
Understand
What it means, when to use it, and mistakes to avoid.
Examples
Marcus left his laptop charger on our conference table.
Why it works: His indicates ownership by Marcus, while our shows that the conference table belongs to the speaker's team.
3 more examples
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The catering company sent its invoice to her office.
Its treats the catering company as a single business entity, and her identifies the female recipient's office.
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We sorted their printed files before our meeting started.
Their identifies files belonging to another team, while our specifies the meeting attended by the speaker.
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You should bring your portfolio to their morning presentation.
Your connects the portfolio to the listener, while their links the presentation to the hosting group.
Read the full guide
Identify the owner before selecting a word
First, identify who owns or is connected with the item. Use my for yourself and your for the person you are speaking to. For another person, use his, her, or their as appropriate. Their also works when you do not know the person's gender. Choose the word for the owner, not for the object.
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My colleague parked her scooter outside the entrance.
Why it works: Her points to the female colleague who owns the scooter.
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Your supervisor left a message on your desk.
Why it works: Your connects both the supervisor and the desk to the person being addressed.
Your turn
Elena uses she/her pronouns. Which sentence uses those pronouns for her laptop?
Answer: Elena forgot her laptop in the conference room.
Show the answer
Answer: Elena forgot her laptop in the conference room.
Her matches the she/her pronouns supplied in the question. A name alone would not establish which pronouns someone uses.
Place the determiner directly before the noun
A possessive determiner always stands immediately ahead of the noun it modifies, or right before any descriptive adjectives modifying that noun. Do not insert articles such as the or a alongside a possessive word. Saying the my desk or a your coat is ungrammatical because the possessive determiner already makes the reference definite. Keep the structure simple: determiner, optional adjective, and noun.
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We reviewed our quarterly budget this morning.
Why it works: Our sits directly in front of the adjective quarterly and the noun budget.
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Marcus submitted his final invoice yesterday.
Why it works: His stands before the adjective final and the noun invoice without any extra article.
You can practise this again in Monday or Mondays: Choose the Right Form and English Determiners: Choose the Right Word.
Your turn
Which phrase correctly describes a schedule belonging to the speaker?
Answer: my schedule
Show the answer
Answer: my schedule
Possessive determiners do not combine with articles like 'the' or 'a'.
Choose between his and her for individuals
English chooses between his and her based strictly on the gender of the owner, never on the grammatical gender or characteristics of the noun that follows. If a man owns an apartment, a car, or a handbag, you say his apartment, his car, or his handbag. If a woman owns a toolbox, you say her toolbox. Look at who possesses the item rather than the item itself.
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David showed the architect his renovated kitchen.
Why it works: His matches David, the male homeowner, even though kitchen has no gender.
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Clara brought her heavy tools to the workshop.
Why it works: Her matches Clara, the female technician, regardless of the tools she carries.
Your turn
Sophie uses she/her pronouns and lent a wrench to a neighbor. Which phrase uses those pronouns for the tool?
Answer: her wrench
Show the answer
Answer: her wrench
Her matches the pronouns supplied for Sophie. Choose based on the stated pronouns, not the name alone.
Use its for things and organizations
When an item connects to an inanimate object, an animal of unknown gender, a business, or an institution, select its. Many learners hesitate when talking about companies or machines, wondering whether to treat them as people. Standard business English treats a single organization, agency, or device as a singular non-human entity. Use its to describe the company website, the machine parts, or the policy details.
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The design agency published its new rate card.
Why it works: Its refers to the single design agency as an organization.
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The espresso machine needs its filter cleaned.
Why it works: Its links the filter directly to the machine.
Your turn
The local hospital updated ___ emergency guidelines last night.
Answer: its
Show the answer
Answer: its
The hospital is a single organization, which takes the singular non-human determiner its.
Keep the determiner steady before plural nouns
Unlike languages that modify adjectives to agree with plural nouns, English possessive determiners never add an s when the following noun is plural. You say our client for one customer and our clients for five customers. The words my, your, his, her, its, our, and their remain identical whether you describe a single object or dozens of items. The noun ending alone indicates number.
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Sandra filed her expense report yesterday.
Why it works: Her appears before the singular noun report.
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Sandra filed her expense reports yesterday.
Why it works: Her remains unchanged when the noun changes to plural reports.
Your turn
Kevin uses he/him pronouns. Which phrase uses those pronouns for multiple keys belonging to Kevin?
Answer: his keys
Show the answer
Answer: his keys
His matches the supplied he/him pronouns and stays the same before plural keys.
Choose between our and their for groups
When you refer to plural owners, ask whether you belong to that group. If you are part of the group, use our to indicate shared connection. If you are speaking about a separate group of people or multiple organizations that do not include you, use their. Conflating these two words can misinform your listener about who shares responsibility for a decision, an appointment, or an expense.
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Our department submitted the proposal before noon.
Why it works: Our indicates that the speaker belongs to the submitting department.
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The auditors completed their review ahead of schedule.
Why it works: Their refers to the group of auditors, excluding the speaker.
Your turn
You and your co-worker Alex completed a joint presentation. How should you describe it?
Answer: our presentation
Show the answer
Answer: our presentation
Our is correct because the speaker is part of the group that created the presentation.
Separate possessive its from the contraction it's
Its shows possession or a connection, without an apostrophe. It's is short for it is or it has. To check your spelling, try both full forms. If one fits the meaning and grammar, use it's. If you are showing that something belongs to or is part of something else, use its.
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The software lost its connection to the database.
Why it works: Its shows possession. You cannot say 'lost it is connection'.
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It's obvious that the server restarted.
Why it works: It's expands to 'it is obvious', making the apostrophe necessary.
Your turn
Choose the correct word: The hotel remodeled ___ lobby this summer.
Answer: its
Show the answer
Answer: its
The possessive determiner its never uses an apostrophe.
Distinguish determiners from standalone pronouns
Do not confuse possessive determiners with possessive pronouns. A determiner like my, your, her, our, or their must accompany a noun. A pronoun like mine, yours, hers, ours, or theirs stands alone and replaces the noun entirely to avoid repetition. For example, you say this is my desk, where my modifies desk, but this desk is mine, where mine stands independently without any noun.
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You borrowed my badge because yours was at home.
Why it works: My modifies badge, while yours stands alone to replace 'your badge'.
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Her workspace is tidy, whereas ours needs cleaning.
Why it works: Her modifies workspace, but ours stands alone to represent 'our workspace'.
Your turn
Which sentence uses a possessive determiner correctly?
Answer: She picked up her umbrella by the door.
Show the answer
Answer: She picked up her umbrella by the door.
Her is a possessive determiner that correctly precedes the noun umbrella.
Use it naturally
How people really use “Possessive Determiners”
Neutral Fine almost anywhere, at work or with friends.
Words it often goes with
- our visitWe enjoyed our visit to the zoo.
- its nameThe dog knows its name.
- her favorite animalAnna says her favorite animal is the elephant.
- his friendsBen met his friends at the gate.
- their ticketsThe visitors showed their tickets at the entrance.
Questions about "Possessive Determiners: Choose the Right Form"
Do I change their when more than one person owns multiple things?
No. The determiner their does not change form. Whether one group owns a single object or dozens of items, the determiner remains their. The plural ending appears only on the noun that follows.
The designers presented their portfolio to the client.
The designers presented their portfolios to the client.
How can I remember whether to write its or it's?
Try replacing the word with it is or it has. If one fits, write it's with an apostrophe. Write its when you mean that something belongs to or is connected with something else.
The software updated its database overnight.
It's ready for testing now.
Can I say the my car or the her office in English?
No. English allows only one central determiner before a noun in this position. Possessive determiners like my and her already specify exactly which item you mean, so adding the or a is redundant and ungrammatical in standard English.
She parked her car in the staff lot.
My office is on the third floor.
What is the difference between my and mine?
My is a possessive determiner, which means it must sit directly before a noun. Mine is an independent possessive pronoun that stands completely alone without a following noun, typically to avoid repeating an object that was already identified.
This is my coffee cup on the counter.
That coffee cup on the counter is mine.
Before you go
Remember this
To choose the correct possessive determiner, determine who owns or connects to the item, choose the matching form, and place it directly before the noun. The determiner stays the same whether the noun is singular or plural. Never use an apostrophe for possessive its, and never attach articles like the before your determiner.
Stage 2 of 5
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Your turn
Say it your way
Speak for 30 to 60 seconds from memory about a visit to a zoo with two friends. Describe your group's plan, an animal and its home, and what each friend wants to see. Make up the details.
Use: our its her
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Last Saturday, I went to the zoo with my friends Anna and Ben. We started our visit near the elephants. One elephant was standing beside its pool, and we watched it play in the water. Anna loves birds, so her first choice was the bird house. Ben wanted to see the snakes because his favorite animals are reptiles. We had enough time to visit both places. At lunchtime, we checked our map and chose a cafe near the exit. I would love to go back next summer.
Try once more and answer this: Which animal would you like to see again?
Stage 4 of 5
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Write
Put it in your own words
- I used “Possessive Determiners”.
- It is about my life, not the lesson’s example.
- I read it once aloud to check it sounds right.
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