What is a possessive pronoun?

A possessive pronoun is a pronoun used to indicate indicate ownership (e.g., “This hat is mine”). The English possessive pronouns are mine, ours, yours, his, hers, theirs, and whose.

A possessive pronoun stands on its own, replacing a noun phrase (e.g., in “Jessie says this chair is hers,” “hers” replaces “Jessie’s chair”).

They should not be confused with possessive determiners, which instead appear before a noun, modifying it (e.g., “this is her chair”). The possessive determiners are my, our, your, his, her, its, their, and whose.