Everyone knows and successfully uses the word my. When the word mine appears, things get more complicated. Unfortunately, not everyone understands the difference between my And mine. So that you understand and always clearly know which word to use, we have prepared an accessible and detailed explanation for you.

Let's start with examples. About your car you can say: “This is my car” or “This car is mine.” At first glance there is no difference, the meaning is the same. But not in English! Because in each of these sentences the word "my" translated differently. In the first sentence you use a possessive adjective, and in the second you use a possessive pronoun!

Possessive adjectives(Possessive Adjectives) And possessive pronouns(Possessive Pronouns) are used to indicate ownership and answer the question Whose?(Whose?)

Possessive Adjectives

The main function of any adjective (including possessive) is to describe a noun. The place of the adjective is before the noun. Therefore, possessive adjectives come before nouns and describe them:

This is my car. - This my car.

This is your file.- This is yours folder.

This is his desk. - This his table.

This is her chair - This her chair.

This is our flat. - This our apartment.

This is their camera - This their camera.

If another descriptive adjective refers to a noun, then the possessive comes before it in the sentence:

Kate is my best friend. - Kate - my best friend.

He is reading his new book. - He is reading my new book.

If there is a possessive adjective before a noun, then the article is never placed:

She took a her bag and left. - She took her bag and left.

The children are playing with a their new ball. - The children are playing with their new ball.

How to say "your" in English?

If you look closely at the examples above, you will notice that the word "mine" has different translations. As such, there is no word “own” in the English language. It is translated as one of the possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) depending on the subject of the sentence:

I will finish my report on Friday. - I'll finish mine report on Friday.

You should tidy your room every day. - You should clean up my room every day.

He visits his relatives in summer. - He visits their relatives in the summer.

She is proud of her son. - She's proud his son.

The dog is eating from its bowl. - The dog eats from his bowls.

We spent our holiday in the mountains. - We spent mine vacation in the mountains.

They let their children stay up late. - They allow his Children should not go to bed late.

Possessive adjectives are always used with nouns that indicate belonging to someone. items of clothing And members of the same family, and also body parts, personal belongings:

She was wearing her best dress yesterday. (NOT the best dress) - Yesterday she was in her best dress.

The boy washed his face and brushed his teeth. (NOT the face, the teeth) - The boy washed his face and brushed (his) teeth.

He loves his parents very much. (NOT the parents) - He loves his parents very much.

She keeps her books in the bookcase. (NOT the books) - She keeps her books in the bookcase.

Word "mine" not always translated into Russian, but in English the use of possessive adjectives Necessarily.

Next two rules will be useful for students of intermediate level and above. In some cases, with nouns denoting parts of the body, it is possible to use the definite article the, rather than a possessive adjective:

1. When a noun does not refer to the subject, that is, the performer of the action (subject), and to the complement - to the one to whom the action is directed (object).

The woman patted the child on the head. - The woman stroked the child’s head.

Noun head refers to the object (the child), not the subject (the woman), so the definite article should be used the, not a possessive adjective.

2. When it comes to pain, damage or shock. In such sentences there are prepositions (in, on) combines with the following verbs:
hit- hit, hit
punch- hit with a fist
slap- clap, slap
bite- bite
pat- clap
sting- sting

An old man has a pain in the back.- The old man has a back pain.

A bee stung me in the arm. - A bee stung my hand.

Possessive adjective its.

The adjective its, which is used with inanimate objects (inanimate objects), can be replaced by of it:

This house is very expensive. I can't tell you its price.
or
I can't tell you the price of it.- This house is expensive. I can't tell you its price.

Please note that its and it’s are not the same thing.

It's is a possessive adjective that refers to an inanimate object or animal.

I have got a cat. Its tail is long. - I have a cat. His tail is long.

It's is a shortened form of either it is, or from it has:

I have got a cat. It's a white cat. (It’s = it is) - I have a cat. This is a white cat.

I've got a cat. It's got a long tail. (It’s got = it has got) - I have a cat. The cat has a long tail.

Possessive Pronouns

Pronouns are used without a noun because the function of pronouns is to replace the noun. We use them to avoid repeating the noun over and over again. Possessive pronouns are usually found at the end of a sentence and are stressed:

This car is mine. - This car - my.

This file is yours. - This folder - yours.

This desk is his. - This table - his.

This chair is hers. - This chair - her.

This flat is ours. - This apartment - our.

This camera is theirs. - This camera - their.

Possessive pronouns can be at the beginning of a sentence and act as a noun, if the noun was indicated earlier and the interlocutors understand what is being said:

My book is on the desk. Yours is on the shelf. (yours = your book) - My book is on the table. Your (book) is on the shelf.

His sister studies at school. Hers works in an office. (hers = her sister) - His sister is studying at school. Her (sister) works in an office.

Our house is new. Theirs is older. (theirs = their house) - Our house is new. Their (house) is older.

Possessive pronoun forms for it does not exist.

The difference between “my friend” and “a friend of mine”.

Possessive pronouns are sometimes used with nouns and the preposition of. In particular in the expression “ a friend of mine/ his/ hers etc.”

Yesterday I met a friend of mine.
Max told us an anecdote about a friend of his.

There is little semantic difference between "my friend" And "a friend of mine".

"My friend" talking about a close friend. If you call a person “my friend,” then you have a warm, trusting relationship with him.

But, like everyone, there are people in your life with whom you maintain normal relationships, but cannot call them friends. These are your friends, acquaintances or “friends of friends.” "A friend of mine" implies that the person is not very close to you, familiar. He himself indicates that this is “one of” his friends, someone “undefined”.

This is my friend Bill. (“my friend” - before the name)
This is Bill, a friend of mine. (“a friend of mine” - after the name)

With the phrase "a friend of mine" associated with one funny fact. In English-speaking culture there is a concept "urban myth"(BrE) or "urban legend"(AmE). This is a story, usually with an unexpected, humorous or instructive ending, which the narrator passes off as a real event. We call such stories “tales” or “fiction”. These incidents allegedly happen to a certain acquaintance of the narrator, and the name of the acquaintance is never specified. Most of these stories (or “tales”) begin with the words: This happened to a friend of mine... (This happened to one of my friends...).

That's all you need to know about possessive adjectives and pronouns. Visit our website often and make progress in learning English!

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Studying any topic starts with its basics. The same goes for English pronouns. Yes, you can immediately throw yourself into the pool headlong, studying all the intricacies of this topic. However, if you do not know how this or that pronoun is translated or pronounced, immediately combining the word with other members and making sentences with them will be at least difficult, and at most impossible. Therefore, if you are just beginning your acquaintance with this topic, let's look at English pronouns with translation and pronunciation in order to avoid problems in their further development.

English pronoun types

To begin with, it is worth noting that pronouns in English are divided into 9 types:

1. Personal Pronouns or Personal Pronouns
2. Possessive Pronouns or Possessive Pronouns
3. Reflexive Pronouns or Reflexive Pronouns
4. Reciprocal Pronouns or Reciprocal Pronouns
5. Interrogative Pronouns or Interrogative Pronouns
6. Relative and Conjunctive Pronouns or Relative and Conjunctive Pronouns
7. Demonstrative Pronouns or Demonstrative Pronouns
8. Quantitative pronouns or Quantitative pronouns
9. Indefinite Pronouns and Negative Pronouns or Indefinite Pronouns and Negative Pronouns

Each type has a limited number of words that you need to remember to express your thoughts. These words, as a rule, consist of a small number of letters and do not contain sounds, the pronunciation of which can cause difficulties for initial stage. Let's look at each type in more detail and study the pronouns of the English language with transcription and translation.

English pronouns with translation and pronunciation: meaning and transcription

1. The main place among English pronouns is occupied by Personal Pronouns. This is the only group in which English allows case declension. Table for clarity:

1. The second most important is the Possessive Pronouns group or the group of possessive pronouns. It also has two forms: attached and absolute. They both answer the same question (“whose?”), but differ in that the first requires a noun after itself, and the second does not. Let's compare:

As you can see, these forms have something in common, but they are written and pronounced differently. Let's consider full list possessive pronouns:

1. Reflexive Pronouns or reflexive pronouns are a group of pronouns that are translated into Russian to mean “oneself” and “oneself” depending on the situation:

The second part of these pronouns may remind you of the famous word “selfie”, which actually comes from the word “self”. The first parts repeat the pronouns of the two above-mentioned groups.

1. Reciprocal Pronouns or reciprocal pronouns in English are the group that will probably take the least time to memorize. It consists of two words with the same meaning:

1. The group of Interrogative Pronouns or the group of interrogative pronouns is more extensive. These pronouns, as the name suggests, are used to form questions:

1. Relative and Conjunctive Pronouns or relative and connecting pronouns are used in complex sentences. There are not many of them, but you need to know these words:

Some words in this group and the group of interrogative pronouns are similar, but their functions and meanings are different.

1. Demonstrative Pronouns or demonstrative pronouns in English are also often found in speech. Some of them have singular and plural forms:

1. There are pronouns in English that denote quantity. They are called Quantitative pronouns or quantitative pronouns. These include:

1. The most extensive group can rightfully be considered Indefinite Pronouns and Negative Pronouns or indefinite and negative pronouns. Most of them are formed by a combination of pronouns, which independently also perform the functions of this group, and other parts of speech:

And also pronouns:

These were all English pronouns with translation and pronunciation. I would like to pay special attention to pronunciation. The fact is that the sounds of the English language are different from the sounds of Russian, so it is actually quite difficult to convey how pronouns are pronounced in English.

The presented options are close to English pronunciation and added to make them easier to understand at a basic level. With this pronunciation you will definitely be understood, but for a more correct sound, study the transcriptions in English. To remember correct pronunciation It’s also great to listen to audio of native speakers and imitate their speaking style.

A pronoun is a part of speech that is used in place of a name. Not “Peter Vasilyevich”, but “he”, not “the author of these lines”, but “I”. Possessive pronouns, just like personal pronouns, allow you to make a message more concise. Compare: “Pyotr Vasilyevich’s shoes” and “his shoes.” in English, just like in Russian, they answer the questions “whose” (Whose?), “who belongs to?”.

This is my hat. - This is my hat.

Her cat trampled on my tulips! - Her cat trampled my tulips!

Your offer is very attractive, but I’ve already found the job. - Your offer is very attractive, but I have already found a job.

Types of pronouns

Possessive pronouns in English can be divided into two large groups depending on what grammatical form they take - absolute or relative. Pronouns in absolute form are quite independent, while relative pronouns cannot be used autonomously - only before a noun.

Compare:

This is my suitcase (This is my suitcase). - This suitcase is mine (This suitcase is mine).

As you can see, in the Russian language the form of the pronoun has not changed. In both cases we use the same word - “my”. However, these two sentences have different semantic emphasis. The second statement is more categorical. But it's not just that. An independent possessive pronoun is often necessary in order to simply not clutter up speech with unnecessary repetitions. For example, take this dialogue:

No, it is not my car. (No, this is not my car.).

And now another version of the same dialogue:

Is it your car? (Is this your car?).

No, it is not mine. (No, not mine.).

And if two people know what they are talking about, then the dialogue may look even shorter.

Is it yours? (Is this yours?).

No, it isn't mine. (No, not mine).

Relative possessive pronouns in English, as already mentioned, are used only before nouns. There are several subtleties: if there is a pronoun, then the article is no longer needed. The pronoun may be followed by another adjective. For example: my funny red ball - my funny ringing ball. However, there are two adjectives that are used before relative possessive pronouns: both (both) and all (all). For example: All my balls are red.

A summary table of pronouns in English is given below.

Main difficulties

Learning forms is usually not difficult, just like understanding and translating English texts. But when translating back, from Russian into English, some difficulties arise. For example, “I called him” and “that’s his hat.” It would seem that we see here two completely identical words - “him”. But can we translate them the same way? If you understand the essence of possessive pronouns well, then you will not get confused in this situation. The possessive pronoun is used here only in the second case. Whose hat is this? - His. That is - his. But in the sentence “I called him,” the pronoun in no way characterizes ownership. This is the pronoun in genitive case, answering the question “who?”, accordingly, here you need to use the pronoun he in the genitive case - him.

There is another common mistake. In the Russian language there is a universal pronoun “svoy”. There is no such thing in English; we will say “her” instead of “ours”, “their” instead of “ours”, and so on. And what is important, this pronoun in some cases replaces the definite article, especially before nouns meaning personal things, close people or parts of the body. For example, “He put on his glasses.” As you can see, we consider it unnecessary to point out that he was wearing his own glasses. This is implied. When constructing a phrase in English, we must use either a possessive pronoun before the word glasses. In this case, the pronoun will sound more natural. He puts on his glasses.

How to learn possessive pronouns in English

According to the advice of experienced teachers, learning grammar will not be difficult if you follow these rules: take your time, understand everything grammar rules Using examples, create tables yourself. In fact, pronouns are one of the simplest topics the English language contains. Exercises in which possessive pronouns are repeated in one form or another can be found in a wide variety of tasks. The main exercise for consolidating the above material, which is found in textbooks or tests, is sentences with missing words where you need to insert correct form possessive pronoun. In most cases, to master this topic, it is enough to complete 4-5 such exercises and analyze several texts.

We use pronouns to replace nouns in a sentence. Look at the word “pronoun” itself; it contains the main function of this part of speech: “ substitute", that is " instead of a noun" Pronouns are used to diversify speech and not repeat the same word from sentence to sentence.

There are several types of pronouns in English: , and possessive. We have given each type of pronouns special attention in a separate article.

Let's see how a native speaker teacher Alex talks about words that show that someone owns something.

When we want to say that someone owns something, we use possessives. As you can see, Alex identified two forms: Possessive Adjectives And Possessive Pronouns.

Possessive adjectives

Let's start looking at possessive forms with possessive adjectives. Abroad these words are called Possessive Adjectives. Such words show a sign of an object, phenomenon or person, therefore they are classified as adjectives and not pronouns:

• My book. - My book. (what book? – mine)
• His friend. - His friend. (what friend? – his)

In Russian textbooks on English grammar it is written that my (your, his etc.) is a pronoun, but native English teachers insist that it is still an adjective, because it comes before a noun and defines it. Let's look at the sign:

My cat likes to play with a ball. – My the cat loves to play with the ball.

She wants to talk to your manager - She wants to talk to yours manager.

The teacher found his mistakes. - The teacher found his errors.

I like her dress. - I like her dress.

Our family likes to rest in Crimea, we adore its nature. – Our family loves to relax in Crimea, we adore his nature.

They look after our children. - They look after our children.

He is speaking with their mother - He's talking to their mom.

Please note: in all examples after my (his, their) goes a noun.

In the Russian language there is a universal word “svoy”, which we simply change according to numbers and persons. In English, the words “your”, “yours”, “yours” should be translated as “my”, “ours”, “his”/“hers”, respectively.

She cut mine finger. – She cut her finger.

I love my mom. – I love my mother

Do my work. – Do your work.

Possessive pronouns

If you need to replace a noun in a sentence, you must use one of the possessive pronouns. Usually the noun is replaced so that there is no repetition in the sentence.

• This is not my pen, mine is purple. – This is not my pen, my purple one (replaced my pen on mine).

Becky! That is mine! - This my, Becky!

My task is easier than yours. - My task is easier than yours.

This is not his car, his is blue. - This is not his car. his– blue.

This is a friend of hers. - This her Friend.

It is not their house, theirs is bigger. - This is not their home their more.

The general rule for all possessive pronouns is that there is no need to use a noun after them, and, as a rule, it comes at the end of the sentence. And look at this couple: a friend of mine And my friend. Both phrases mean the same thing - my friend, only after a preposition of use possessive pronouns rather than adjectives ( a friend of mine).

We use possessive pronouns in our speech every day. This is my cat, their dog, her portion of ice cream, his briefcase, their daughter... We will see pronouns in almost every sentence. Since the theory on this topic has already been studied, today we will proceed directly to practice to consolidate the acquired knowledge. Remember: when studying possessive pronouns in English, exercises will help you remember the theory much more effectively than even a hundred repetitions. So let's get straight to the point! They're waiting for us interesting tasks, which will be easy enough even for children.

Exercises on possessive pronouns are relatively easy. And if you first repeat the basic subtleties of translation, then working on the tasks will be very easy. So, for your attention, tables with possessive pronouns that will put all the features of translation on the shelves.

First form of possessive pronouns

Second form of possessive pronouns

As you already know, despite the fact that possessive pronouns (Possessive Pronouns) have two forms, they all answer the same question => whose? That is Whose? Whose? Whose? Whose? At the same time, we would like to remind you that the absolute form of possessive pronouns differs from the first (attributive) both in spelling and in role in the sentence: nouns do not follow the absolute form, they are missing.

Examples:

That is his cup => This is his cup (possessive pronoun in attributive form his+ noun cup)

But! That cup is mine=> This cup is mine (possessive pronoun in absolute form mine, after which there is no need to put a noun).

So, when we have repeated the theory, we can safely begin the exercises. Now you can test your knowledge in practice. Forward!

Exercise 1. (possessive pronouns)

Correctly place the possessive pronouns, choosing from those proposed in the attributive form (my, his, her, its, our, your, their):

my his her our them

Book but she denied to return it to him.

I saw that picture in

his our its her their

House but don’t remember whether it was her property or just a gift.

I forgot my glasses in

your my their her our

Car. Probably they will return it to me tomorrow.

The teacher was listening to

my their your our its

Answer quite patiently but it was really silly one.

His It's Your Her

Jacket I found in

her his my their our

My Your His Our Their

Parents were absent while

his my their your our

Were at school.

Pay attention! In these sentences, the possessive pronouns can be swapped. For example, in the last Possessive offer Pronouns can be swapped without affecting the context. But, for example, in the third sentence there will be only one choice, since there is an identifier word they.

We continue to use possessive pronouns

Exercise 2. (possessive pronouns)

Write correct option from those presented in brackets:

My grandfather has a cat. color is warm red.

She saw dress washing in washing machine. The dress in washing machine was (her, hers, its).

I saw him wearing best shirt It suits him so much!

cat sleeps when it has done all insidious things.

They live in a big city. city ​​is so nice I would like to visit it this summer!

I like dress more than .

I have a rabbit. The rabbit is .

plane is a luxury one as well as pleasure boat

My sister has a doll. doll is very expensive.

Her brother is very naughty. Only trousers costs 5 times more than my most expensive dress!

Exercise 3. (possessive pronouns)

Place the pronouns correctly in attributive and absolute form:

I have a dress. The dress is.

Dress is very nice.

Her friend has a new lipstick. The new lipstick is .

Lipstick is of dark wine color.

This shirt is.

Shirt is from the newest collection.

The business is