Foundation grammar · Unit 61 · A1

Whose is this? It's mine/yours/hers etc.

Pronouns and possessives

Use mine, yours, his, hers, ours and theirs in place of a possessive and a noun, and use whose to ask who something belongs to.

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A my and mine, our and ours

Each person has two forms. The first goes in front of a noun. The second stands on its own.

+ noun without a noun
I my mine
we our ours
you your yours
he his his
she her hers
they their theirs

There is no apostrophe in yours, hers, ours or theirs.

  • It's my ticket. It's mine.
  • It's our table. It's ours.
  • It's your coat. It's yours.
  • It's his phone. It's his.
  • It's her bag. It's hers.
  • It's their dog. It's theirs.

B With a noun, or without one

Use my, your, her, our, their with a noun after them: my feet, your car.

Use mine, yours, hers, ours, theirs with no noun. The noun has already been mentioned, so there is no need to say it twice.

his works both ways, with a noun or without one.

  • My feet are wet.
  • Is this your pen?
  • Lucy lent me her bike.
  • It's their mess, not our mess.
  • Is this coffee mine or yours?
  • I forgot my scarf, so Lucy lent me hers.
  • It's their mess, not ours.
  • We came by bus and they came in theirs.
  • "Is this his sandwich or hers?" "It's his."

C a friend of mine, some friends of yours

Say a friend of mine, a friend of his, some friends of ours and so on.

The form after of is mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs. It is never me, him, you or them: not a friend of me.

  • I'm having lunch with a friend of mine.
  • Jack came with a friend of his.
  • Are those women friends of yours?

D Whose ... ?

Use whose to ask who something belongs to. Whose phone is this? means: is it your phone? his phone? her phone?

You can use whose with a noun or without one, if the thing is in front of you.

  • Whose phone is this?
  • Whose jacket is this? Whose is this? It's mine.
  • Whose socks are these? Whose are these? They're Ryan's.

Exercises

61.1 Finish each sentence with mine, yours, his, hers, ours or theirs.

  1. It's your umbrella. It's yours.

    It's your umbrella. It's yours.

  2. It's my phone. It's .

  3. It's our flat. It's .

  4. They're her keys. They're .

  5. It's their dog. It's .

  6. They're your gloves. They're .

  7. They're my boots. They're .

  8. It's his bike. It's .

61.2 Choose the right word for each gap.

  1. It's their (their / theirs) fault, not ours (our / ours).

    It's their fault, not ours.

  2. That's a lovely scarf. Is it (your / yours)?

  3. That isn't (my / mine) coat. (My / Mine) is green.

  4. Whose keys are these? (Your / Yours) or (my / mine)?

  5. Jodie is going to the match with (her / hers) brother on Saturday.

  6. (Our / Ours) garden is smaller than (their / theirs).

  7. Our neighbours have got three cats, but I can never remember (their / theirs) names.

  8. Can I borrow your charger? (My / Mine) is at home.

61.3 Finish the sentences. Use friend of mine, friends of yours and so on.

  1. I went to the football with a friend of mine.

    I went to the football with a friend of mine.

  2. They stayed in Whitby with some friends of theirs.

    They stayed in Whitby with some friends of theirs.

  3. Megan is having lunch with a friend .

  4. We went to a concert with some .

  5. I went swimming with a .

  6. Gareth is going to the pub with a .

  7. Who are those people at the door? Are they ?

61.4 Read each scene. Write the question with whose, and the answer.

  1. A man points at a white van outside a house. He asks a woman. She points at the couple standing by the front door.

    "Whose van is this?" "It's theirs."

    Whose van is this? It's theirs.

  2. A man finds a red scarf on a chair in a cafe. He asks a woman. She points at her friend, another woman, who is putting her coat on.

    " is this?" "It's ."

  3. A man holds up a pair of gloves. A woman reaches out for them, pointing at herself.

    " these?" "They ."

  4. A woman holds up a cake tin and asks a man. He points at an older man standing behind him.

    "?" "."

  5. A boy holds up a pair of trainers in a changing room. Two girls point at themselves.

    "?" "."

  6. A woman holds up a pile of books and asks two boys. The boys point back at her.

    "?" "."

See also