Fill in the blanks with possessive pronouns or adjectives.
1. That policeman is a friend of …………….. (mine / my)
2. Honey, I have lost ………………. keys. (my / mine)
3. It is easy to lose ……………… temper when one is criticized. (ones / one’s)
4. The cat is in a good mood. It’s just had ……………… breakfast. (it’s / its)
5. He watched each gesture of ……………. as if she was a stranger. (her / hers)
6. My work is no business of ………………. (your / yours)
7. The teacher told the children to open ……………….. books. (their / there)
8. How is that cousin of ………………? (your/ yours)
9. A friend of …………… has invited me to France. (my / mine)
10. Jane broke ……………. leg mountain climbing. (her / hers)
Answers
1. mine
2. my
3. one’s
4. its
5. hers
6. yours
7. their
8. yours
9. mine
10. her
Grammar notes
My, your, his, her, its, our and their are possessive adjectives. They are used at the beginning of noun phrases. Examples are: my daughter, your son, their dog etc.
Mine, yours, his, hers, ours and theirs are possessive pronouns. They are used without nouns.
That coat is mine.
Which car is yours?
Note the spelling of the possessive its. The contraction it’s is not a possessive. It means it is or it has.
