General English Level 4 V 3
UNIT 02 Keeping fit TOPIC 03 Here we are...
LANGUAGE FOCUS 04 Possessives
Steve says:
Steve:
…Ming, here's your rucksack. And here are your boots too.

My , your , his , her , its , their and our are possessive determiners . Possessive determiners tell us who things belong to.

Here is your rucksack.
Here are their bags.
Steve says:
Steve:
Whose is this raincoat ? The dark blue striped one.
(Steve wants to know who owns the dark blue raincoat.)

We use whose to ask who things belong to.

Steve says:
Steve:
…The rope belongs to the club.
(The club owns the rope.)

We can use belongs + to talk about who owns things.

Jin Hee says:
Jin Hee:
…I brought all my own equipment.
(Jin Hee has brought equipment she owns.)

We can say my own to make the meaning of "my" stronger. We can also use your own , her own , his own and their own .

Examples

1 Read the examples.
2 Listen to the examples.
3 Practise saying each example. Use the Pause button.
Whose is this?
Whose helmet is this?
The jacket belongs to Jenny.
The handbag belongs to Susan.
He brought his own torch.

Steve and Jin Hee say:
Jin Hee:
Oh, it's mine !
(Jin Hee owns it.)
Steve: Jin Hee, this is yours .
(Jin Hee owns it.)

Mine , yours , his , hers , theirs and ours are possessive pronouns .

We use possessive pronouns when we are referring to the same type of thing that has already been mentioned, but we want to show it belongs to someone else.

personal pronoun (I) (you)


(he) (she) (it)

(we)
(they)


possessive determiner:

my your his her its our their
possessive pronoun: mine yours his hers -----
ours theirs


Possessive pronouns stand alone and are not followed by a noun.


We don't use its as a possessive pronoun.

This is yours .
It is mine .
These are hers .

Examples

1 Read the examples.
2 Listen to the examples.
3 Practise saying each example. Use the Pause button.
Whose is this bottle? It's mine .
Whose are these jeans? They're his .
This is my jacket but that one is yours .
Our sleeping bags are in the bus. Theirs must be in the tent.
Is this helmet yours ? No, it's hers .

Now go to 05 PRACTICE Possessives.