Practise Possessive Adjectives with Answers

Possessive adjectives are an essential part of English grammar. Words such as my, your, his, her, its, our, and their are used frequently to show who owns or is associated with a person, object, or thing. However, many learners still confuse possessive adjectives with possessive pronouns, especially when completing grammar exercises or writing sentences.

To remember these forms more effectively, it is helpful to combine grammar study with regular practice. Possessive adjectives exercises help learners recognise the correct form of each word, identify the owner in a sentence, and avoid common grammatical mistakes.

In this article, you will practise several types of exercises, from basic fill-in-the-blank activities to error correction, multiple-choice questions, sentence rewriting, and mixed exercises. Each activity includes answers and explanations to help you check your understanding and improve your English grammar skills.

A Quick Review of Possessive Adjectives

Before starting the exercises, review the possessive adjectives commonly used in English.

A possessive adjective comes before a noun to show who owns something or who it is associated with.

Examples:

• This is my book.
• She loves her family.
• They are cleaning their room.
• The dog is wagging its tail.

There are three important rules to remember:

• Possessive adjectives are used with nouns, such as my bag, his car, and their house.
• The choice of possessive adjective depends on the owner, not on whether the noun that follows is singular or plural.
• Possessive adjectives are different from possessive pronouns. For example, my usually comes before a noun, while mine can stand alone and replace the phrase my book.

Possessive Adjectives Exercises: Basic to Advanced

Exercise: Fill in the Blanks with the Correct Possessive Adjective

In this exercise, identify the owner in each sentence and choose the appropriate word from my, your, his, her, its, our, or their.

Exercise 1: Complete the sentences

1. She is talking to ____ mother.
2. I love ____ family very much.
3. They are playing with ____ friends.
4. We finished ____ homework.
5. He lost ____ keys.
6. The dog is wagging ____ tail.
7. I forgot ____ phone at home.
8. You should finish ____ project today.
9. The students opened ____ books.
10. Anna is doing ____ homework now.

Answers and explanations

1. her — The subject is she, so the correct possessive adjective is her.
2. my — The possessive adjective corresponding to I is my.
3. their — The subject they corresponds to their.
4. our — The possessive adjective for we is our.
5. his — The subject he corresponds to his.
6. its — Use its to refer to an animal’s body part when its gender is not being emphasised.
7. my — The person who forgot the phone is I.
8. your — The sentence addresses you, so use your.
9. their — The students is a plural subject, so use their.
10. her — Anna is referred to as she in this sentence, so use her.

Exercise: Choose Possessive Adjectives Based on Context

Not every sentence contains a subject pronoun immediately before the blank. Read the whole sentence to identify who owns the object or thing being mentioned.

Exercise 2: Complete the sentences

Fill in each blank with my, your, his, her, its, our, or their.

1. The cat is licking ____ paws.
2. We invited ____ friends to the party.
3. Tom forgot ____ phone at home.
4. I think this is ____ seat.
5. The students opened ____ books.
6. Anna is looking for ____ keys.
7. The baby is holding ____ toy.
8. The teacher asked the students to take out ____ notebooks.
9. My brother loves ____ new bike.
10. The company increased ____ profits this year.

Answers and explanations

1. its — Use its for the cat when its gender is not being emphasised.
2. our — The people inviting their friends are represented by we.
3. his — Tom owns the phone.
4. my — If the speaker is referring to their own seat, use my. The answer may differ in another context.
5. their — The students is a plural subject.
6. her — Anna owns the keys.
7. its — Use its when referring to the baby’s toy without specifying the baby’s gender.
8. their — The notebooks belong to the students.
9. his — My brother corresponds to his.
10. its — The company is treated as a single organisation, so its is appropriate here.

Exercise: Find and Correct the Mistakes

A common mistake when learning possessive adjectives is using a subject pronoun or possessive pronoun instead of a possessive adjective. Identify the incorrect word in each sentence and replace it with the correct form.

Exercise 3: Correct the sentences

1. He loves she mother.
2. They lost them keys.
3. I finished mine homework.
4. We visited us teacher.
5. He likes he dog.
6. The cat cleaned it paws.
7. Anna called she friend yesterday.
8. We forgot we bags at school.

Answers and explanations

1. she → her: Use her before the noun mother.
2. them → their: Their shows possession of the keys.
3. mine → my: Mine is a possessive pronoun and does not come directly before the noun homework.
4. us → our: Use our before the noun teacher.
5. he → his: His is the possessive adjective corresponding to he.
6. it → its: Use its to show that the paws belong to the cat.
7. she → her: Use her before the noun friend.
8. we → our: Our is the possessive adjective corresponding to we.

A useful tip is to remember that he, she, they, and we are subject pronouns, while his, her, their, and our can function as possessive adjectives before nouns. Always consider the word’s function in the sentence instead of choosing a form based only on how it looks.

Exercise: Distinguish Possessive Adjectives from Possessive Pronouns

Possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns both express ownership, but they have different grammatical functions. A possessive adjective needs a noun after it, whereas a possessive pronoun can stand alone and replace a noun phrase.

For example:

• This is my book. (My comes before the noun book.)
• This book is mine. (Mine replaces the phrase my book.)

Exercise 4: Choose the correct answer

1. This is ____ book. (my / mine)
2. The blue car is ____. (her / hers)
3. That house is ____. (their / theirs)
4. I like ____ idea. (your / yours)
5. This dog is ____. (our / ours)
6. Is this ____ pen? (your / yours)
7. The red bag is ____. (my / mine)
8. They forgot ____ homework. (their / theirs)
9. This is ____ room. (our / ours)
10. The choice is ____. (his / he)

Answers and explanations

1. my — It comes before the noun book.
2. hers — It stands alone and replaces her car.
3. theirs — It replaces the phrase their house.
4. your — It comes before the noun idea.
5. ours — It stands alone and replaces our dog.
6. your — It comes before the noun pen.
7. mine — It stands alone and replaces my bag.
8. their — It comes before the noun homework.
9. our — It comes before the noun room.
10. his — His can function as a possessive pronoun when it stands alone.

Remember that his can function as both a possessive adjective and a possessive pronoun. Its grammatical role depends on how it is used in the sentence.

Exercise: Rewrite Phrases Using Possessive Adjectives

In this activity, identify the owner in each noun phrase and rewrite it using the appropriate possessive adjective.

Example:

The book of Tom → his book

Exercise 5: Rewrite the following phrases

1. The bag of Anna
2. The house of my parents
3. The toys of the children
4. The car of John
5. The classroom of the students
6. The laptop of my sister
7. The dog of Peter
8. The teacher of our class

Answers

1. her bag
2. their house
3. their toys
4. his car
5. their classroom
6. her laptop
7. his dog
8. our teacher

Explanation: Anna and my sister are represented by her in these examples, while John and Peter correspond to his. The plural owners my parents, the children, and the students correspond to their. In the final phrase, our class is associated with our teacher when referring to the teacher of our class.

Mixed Possessive Adjectives Exercises

The following questions combine the grammar points covered above. Choose the correct possessive adjective by considering the subject, context, and noun that follows.

Exercise 6: Complete each sentence

1. My sister and I love ____ hometown.
2. David is looking for ____ wallet.
3. The birds are building ____ nest.
4. Each student should bring ____ own notebook.
5. Someone left ____ umbrella in the classroom.
6. The company changed ____ website last month.
7. Is that ____ jacket, or does it belong to someone else?
8. The children are doing ____ best to finish the task.

Answers and explanations

1. our — My sister and I correspond to we.
2. his — David owns the wallet.
3. their — The birds is a plural subject, so use their.
4. their — Singular they can refer to each student when the person’s gender is unknown or unspecified.
5. their — Their can refer to someone when the person’s gender is unknown.
6. its — Its shows that the website belongs to the company.
7. your — If the question is addressed to the listener, use your.
8. their — The children corresponds to they, so use their.

Tips for Getting Possessive Adjectives Exercises Right

To improve your results when completing possessive adjectives exercises, focus on the following principles.

• Identify the owner: Determine who owns the object or is associated with the thing before choosing an answer.
• Distinguish possessive adjectives from possessive pronouns: My book is correct because my comes before a noun, while This book is mine is correct because mine stands alone.
• Do not confuse “its” and “it’s”: Its expresses possession, whereas it’s is a contraction of it is or it has.
• Pay attention to the subject: Possessive adjectives depend on the owner, not on whether the following noun is singular or plural.
• Read the whole sentence: Some sentences may allow different answers depending on the owner or situation. Use the context to select the most appropriate option.

After completing each exercise, review your incorrect answers and practise those forms again. Once you understand the basic rules, try writing your own sentences about family, school, work, and everyday objects. This will help you apply possessive adjectives naturally in both speaking and writing.

For more detailed grammar guidance, you can also review a lesson on possessive adjectives to reinforce the rules and understand how these words differ from related grammatical forms before moving on to more challenging activities.

Frequently Asked Questions About Possessive Adjectives

Do possessive adjectives change according to whether a noun is singular or plural?

No. Possessive adjectives do not change according to the number of the noun that follows them.

Examples:

• my book
• my books

In both examples, my stays the same because the owner is I.

What is the difference between “its” and “it’s”?

Although these words look similar, they have different grammatical functions.

• Its: A possessive adjective used before a noun. Example: The dog wagged its tail.
• It’s: A contraction of it is or it has. Example: It’s raining today.

A quick way to check is to replace it’s with it is or it has. If the sentence no longer makes sense or becomes grammatically incorrect, you may need its instead.

Can “their” refer to one person?

Yes. In modern English, their can refer to one person when their gender is unknown or when the speaker does not want to specify it.

Examples:

• Someone left their phone on the table.
• Each student must bring their ID card to the exam.

This usage is common in contemporary English and allows speakers to use gender-neutral language naturally.

When should “its” be used for animals?

Its is commonly used when referring to an animal without emphasising its gender.

Examples:

• The cat cleaned its paws.
• The dog wagged its tail happily.

If the speaker knows the animal’s gender or wants to express a personal connection with a pet, his or her may also be used.

For example: My dog loves his toy.

Can a possessive adjective be used without a noun?

Generally, no. A possessive adjective needs a noun to form a complete noun phrase.

Examples:

• my car
• her house

If you want to express ownership without repeating the noun, use a possessive pronoun instead.

Examples:

• This car is mine.
• That house is hers.

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