Possessive adjectives show who owns or has something. In English, the main possessive adjectives are my, your, his, her, its, our, and their. They do not change for gender or number of the noun they describe, except for the distinction between his and her. Possessive adjectives come before a noun and describe whose noun it is.

Rule
Possessive adjectives show ownership or relationship.
Possessive adjectives come before the noun they modify.
Possessive adjectives do not take s to agree with the noun.

The core set of English possessive adjectives covers first, second, and third person, singular and plural. His is used for a male owner, and her is used for a female owner. Its refers to ownership by a thing, animal, or entity when gender is not specified. Their is used for plural owners or as a singular neutral form in some contexts.

Word/Phrase	Definition
my	Belongs to the speaker.
your	Belongs to the listener or listeners.
his	Belongs to a male person or identified male owner.
her	Belongs to a female person or identified female owner.
its	Belongs to a thing, animal, or entity without specified gender.
our	Belongs to the speaker and at least one other.
their	Belongs to a group or to a person with neutral reference.

Possessive adjectives always come directly before the noun they describe. They can be followed by adjectives, but they still attach to the noun as the owner. They do not replace the noun; they must be paired with the noun being owned. In sentences, the possessive adjective stays with the noun group it modifies.

Rule
Place the possessive adjective immediately before the noun.
Pair the possessive adjective with the noun being owned.
In a noun phrase, the possessive adjective stays attached to the head noun.

Possessive adjectives are different from possessive pronouns in English. Possessive adjectives need a noun after them, while possessive pronouns stand alone. In English, adding s to a noun (the boy's) is a different structure called the possessive form, not a possessive adjective. Use my, your, his, her, its, our, and their before nouns, not as stand-alone replacements for the noun.

Rule
Possessive adjectives require a following noun.
Possessive pronouns stand alone and do not take a noun after them.
The form with s on a noun is not a possessive adjective.

Possessive adjectives in English express ownership or relationship and come before the noun they modify. The main forms are my, your, his, her, its, our, and their. They do not change for the noun's number and must be used with a noun. Distinguishing possessive adjectives from possessive pronouns and from noun + s helps keep sentences clear.