Possessive adjectives show who or what something belongs to. They come before a noun and describe the noun by linking it to an owner. They answer the question “Whose?” and help avoid repeating a person’s name or a noun. In English, they agree with the owner, not with the thing owned.

English has a small, fixed set of possessive adjectives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their. Each one matches a subject pronoun and points to the owner. Once you choose the correct possessive adjective, the noun stays the same regardless of who owns it.

Word/Phrase	🇨🇳 中文 🔤 词/短语	Definition	🇨🇳 中文 📘 定义	Example	🇨🇳 中文 🧾 例子
my	🔤 我的	belonging to me	📘 属于我	my bag	🧾 我的包
your	🔤 你的	belonging to you	📘 属于你	your phone	🧾 你的手机
his	🔤 他的	belonging to a male person	📘 属于一位男性	his jacket	🧾 他的夹克
her	🔤 她的	belonging to a female person	📘 属于一位女性	her keys	🧾 她的钥匙
its	🔤 它的	belonging to an animal or thing	📘 属于动物或物品	its tail	🧾 它的尾巴
our	🔤 我们的	belonging to us	📘 属于我们	our house	🧾 我们的房子
their	🔤 他们的	belonging to them	📘 属于他们	their car	🧾 他们的车

Possessive adjectives normally go directly before the noun they modify. They can also come before an adjective that describes the noun, staying at the start of the noun phrase. They do not stand alone without a noun because they function as adjectives, not pronouns.

Rule	🇨🇳 中文 规则	Example	🇨🇳 中文 例子
Place it before the noun	📏 把它放在名词前	her book	🧾 她的书
Place it before any adjective in the noun phrase	📏 把它放在名词短语中的任意形容词前	their new apartment	🧾 他们的新公寓
Use it with a noun, not by itself	📏 与名词搭配使用，不能独立使用	This is my seat	🧾 这是我的座位

Choose the possessive adjective based on the owner, not the thing owned. The possessed noun does not change form when the owner changes. English does not mark gender or number on the possessed noun for possession in this structure.

Rule	🇨🇳 中文 规则	Example	🇨🇳 中文 例子
Match the owner, not the noun	🎯 与所有者匹配，而不是名词	Sarah loves her job	🧾 萨拉喜欢她的工作
Same noun, different owners	🎯 相同名词，不同所有者	my friend, your friend, their friend	🧾 我的朋友、你的朋友、他们的朋友
The possessed noun stays the same	🎯 被拥有的名词保持不变	his coat, her coat	🧾 他的外套、她的外套

Use his for a male person and her for a female person. Use its for animals or things when you mean possession, especially in formal or neutral writing. Its is different from it’s, which means it is or it has and is not possessive.

Rule	🇨🇳 中文 规则	Example	🇨🇳 中文 例子
Use his for a male owner	👤 对男性所有者使用 he	He forgot his password	🧾 他忘记了他的密码
Use her for a female owner	👤 对女性所有者使用 she	She changed her schedule	🧾 她改变了她的日程
Use its for an animal or thing	🐾 对动物或物体使用 its	The dog hurt its paw	🧾 那只狗伤了它的爪子
Its is possessive, it’s is a contraction	✍️ Its 是所有格，it's 是缩写	Its color is bright	🧾 它的颜色很亮

Your is used for both singular and plural owners, unlike some languages that change the form. Context shows whether you mean one person or several people. In polite situations, your can also refer to someone you are addressing formally.

Rule	🇨🇳 中文 规则	Example	🇨🇳 中文 例子
Your works for one person or many people	👥 你的适用于一个人或多个人	Is this your seat or your seats	🧾 这是你的座位还是你们的座位？
Context clarifies meaning	🗣️ 上下文澄清含义	I like your idea, everyone	🧾 我喜欢你的想法，大家

Their can refer to a plural group, but it is also widely used as a singular, gender-neutral possessive adjective. Singular they avoids choosing between his and her when the person is unknown or when someone prefers they. This usage is common in modern English and accepted in most contexts.

Rule	🇨🇳 中文 规则	Example	🇨🇳 中文 例子
Use their for plural owners	👥 使用 their 表示复数所有者	The students brought their laptops	🧾 学生们带来了他们的笔记本电脑
Use their for a singular person when gender is unknown or neutral	🧑 当性别未知或中性时，对单数人使用 their	Someone left their umbrella	🧾 有人留下了他们的伞

Possessive adjectives typically replace articles like a, an, and the. You usually say my car, not the my car. In some fixed expressions, you may see the used with a possessive for emphasis or specification, but this is not the normal pattern for everyday noun phrases.

Rule	🇨🇳 中文 规则	Example	🇨🇳 中文 例子
Do not use a, an, the right before a possessive adjective	🚫 在所有格形容词前不要使用 a、an、the	my apartment	🧾 我的公寓
A possessive adjective can stand in place of the article	✅ 所有格形容词可以代替冠词	her answer	🧾 她的答案

Possessive adjectives can modify many kinds of nouns, including people, objects, places, and abstract ideas. They can introduce longer noun phrases with quantities, adjectives, and prepositional phrases. The possessive adjective stays at the very beginning of the noun phrase.

Rule	🇨🇳 中文 规则	Example	🇨🇳 中文 示例
Possessive adjective starts the noun phrase	🧩 所有格形容词位于名词短语的开头	our three best options	🧾 我们的三个最佳选项
It can introduce abstract nouns too	🧩 它也可以引出抽象名词	his opinion	🧾 他的观点
It can precede longer phrases	🧩 它可以放在更长短语之前	their plan for next year	🧾 他们明年的计划

Possessive adjectives come before a noun: my book, her coat. Possessive pronouns replace the noun: mine, hers, ours, theirs. Choosing between them depends on whether you say the noun or leave it understood from context.

Word/Phrase	🇨🇳 中文 🔤 词/短语	Definition	🇨🇳 中文 📘 定义	Example	🇨🇳 中文 🧾 例子
my	🔤 我的	possessive adjective before a noun	📘 属于名词之前的所有格形容词	my laptop	🧾 我的笔记本
mine	🔤 mine（代词）	possessive pronoun replacing the noun	📘 替换名词的所有格代词	The laptop is mine	🧾 笔记本是我的
her	🔤 她的	possessive adjective before a noun	📘 属于名词之前的所有格形容词	her notebook	🧾 她的笔记本
hers	🔤 hers	possessive pronoun replacing the noun	📘 替换名词的所有格代词	This notebook is hers	🧾 这本笔记本是她的
their	🔤 他们的	possessive adjective before a noun	📘 属于名词之前的所有格形容词	their seats	🧾 他们的座位
theirs	🔤 theirs	possessive pronoun replacing the noun	📘 替换名词的所有格代词	The seats are theirs	🧾 座位是他们的