English Language Arts
Grade 5
15 min
Identify possessive pronouns
Identify possessive pronouns
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Introduction & Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives
Define the term 'possessive pronoun' and list the common examples.
Differentiate between possessive pronouns (e.g., mine, theirs) and possessive adjectives (e.g., my, their).
Accurately identify possessive pronouns within various sentences.
Identify the noun or noun phrase that a possessive pronoun replaces.
Correctly use possessive pronouns in their own writing to improve clarity and avoid repetition.
Distinguish between singular and plural possessive pronouns.
Whose lunchbox is this? 🥪 Is it yours? No, it's mine! Words that show who owns something are powerful tools for writers.
In this lesson, you will become an expert at finding and using possessive pronouns. These special words show ownership without repeating nouns, which makes your...
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Key Concepts & Vocabulary
TermDefinitionExample
PronounA word that takes the place of a noun (a person, place, or thing).Instead of 'Maria threw the ball,' you can say 'She threw the ball.' 'She' is the pronoun.
PossessionThe state of owning, having, or controlling something.The dog's bone shows the dog has possession of the bone.
Possessive PronounA pronoun that shows ownership and stands alone in a sentence, replacing a noun.The book is mine. ('Mine' replaces 'my book'.)
Singular Possessive PronounA possessive pronoun that shows ownership by only one person or thing.The jacket is his. ('His' refers to one boy.) The list includes: mine, yours, his, hers, its.
Plural Possessive PronounA possessive pronoun that shows ownership by more than one person...
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Key Rules & Conventions
The 'Stands Alone' Rule
A possessive pronoun takes the place of a noun and is not followed by another noun.
Use this rule to tell the difference between a possessive pronoun and a possessive adjective. If the word showing ownership has a noun right after it (like 'her book'), it's an adjective. If it stands by itself (like 'The book is hers'), it's a possessive pronoun.
The 'No Apostrophe' Rule
Possessive pronouns NEVER use an apostrophe.
This is a very common point of confusion. Words like 'it's', 'you're', and 'there's' are contractions (it is, you are, there is), not possessive pronouns. The possessive pronouns are 'its', 'yours', and 'theirs'.
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Challenging
A student argues that the sentence 'The victory was their's' is correct because 'their' is plural and the apostrophe shows possession. Based on the tutorial, why is this student's reasoning incorrect?
A.The student is correct; apostrophes show possession.
B.The reasoning is wrong because 'their's' is a contraction for 'their is'.
C.The reasoning is wrong because possessive pronouns are 'too proud to need an apostrophe' and never use one.
D.The reasoning is wrong because 'theirs' is singular, not plural.
Challenging
Read the sentences: 1. 'Our project won the science fair.' 2. 'The winning project at the science fair was ours.' Which statement best analyzes the words 'Our' and 'ours'?
A.'Our' is a pronoun because it replaces a noun; 'ours' is an adjective because it describes the project.
B.Both words are possessive pronouns used in different parts of the sentence.
C.'Our' is an adjective because it modifies 'project'; 'ours' is a pronoun because it stands alone and replaces 'our project'.
D.Both words are possessive adjectives because they show that the project belongs to us.
Challenging
How must the following sentence be corrected to be grammatically perfect? 'The dog knows it's bowl, and the choice of where to sleep is your's.'
A.Change 'it's' to 'its' and 'your's' to 'yours'.
B.Change 'it's' to 'its' but leave 'your's' as it is.
C.Change 'your's' to 'yours' but leave 'it's' as it is.
D.The sentence is already correct.
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