Subject, Object, Possessive Adjectives, and Possessive Pronouns
In the previous lesson, we learned:
I → me
he → him
she → her
we → us
they → them
But English has more forms.
For example:
I → me → my → mine
These words are related, but they have different jobs in a sentence.
Let's make it simple.
🔤 1. The four forms
There are four important types to learn:
- Subject pronoun
- Object pronoun
- Possessive adjective
- Possessive pronoun
Don't worry about the big names.
First, look at this table:
| Subject | Object | Possessive adjective | Possessive pronoun |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | me | my | mine |
| you | you | your | yours |
| he | him | his | his |
| she | her | her | hers |
| it | it | its | — |
| we | us | our | ours |
| they | them | their | theirs |
You don't need to understand everything at once.
We'll look at each one.
📘 2. Subject pronouns
We learned these in the previous lesson.
A subject does the action.
I like coffee.
She helps me.
They play football.
Subject pronouns:
I, you, he, she, it, we, they
Think:
Subject = who does the action?
🧩 3. Object pronouns
An object receives the action.
She helps me.
I like him.
They know her.
We help them.
Object pronouns:
me, you, him, her, it, us, them
Think:
Object = who receives the action?
🔍 4. Now let's talk about possession
Possession means something belongs to someone.
For example:
This is my book.
The book belongs to me.
This is John's car.
The car belongs to John.
English has two common ways to talk about possession:
my book
and
The book is mine.
Both show that the book belongs to me.
🧠 5. Possessive adjectives
These words show who something belongs to.
They are:
my
your
his
her
its
our
their
Examples:
My book
Your phone
His car
Her bag
Our house
Their teacher
The important thing is:
Possessive adjective + noun
For example:
my book
your car
her phone
their house
A noun comes after the possessive adjective.
🗂️ 6. My
My means something belongs to me.
This is my book.
That is my phone.
She is my sister.
Notice:
my + noun
So:
my book
my car
my house
my friend
Not:
when you want to use it alone.
🎯 7. Your
Your means something belongs to you.
This is your book.
Is that your phone?
I like your car.
Again:
your + noun
💬 8. His
His means something belongs to him.
This is his car.
That is his phone.
I know his brother.
🔤 9. Her
Her can mean something belongs to her when it is used before a noun.
This is her bag.
That is her house.
I like her dress.
Remember that her has two jobs:
I like her. → object pronoun
I like her bag. → possessive adjective
The word is the same, but its job is different.
📘 10. Our
Our means something belongs to us.
This is our house.
They are our friends.
We love our school.
🧩 11. Their
Their means something belongs to them.
This is their car.
That is their house.
I know their parents.
Remember:
they → their
Not:
✅ their car
🔍 12. Possessive adjectives need a noun
This is one of the most important rules.
After a possessive adjective, we normally have a noun.
my book
your phone
his car
her bag
our house
their dog
Think:
my + thing
your + thing
their + thing
🧠 13. Possessive pronouns
Possessive pronouns also show ownership.
They are:
mine
yours
his
hers
ours
theirs
We use them without a noun after them.
For example:
This book is mine.
We don't say:
We say:
or:
🗂️ 14. My vs. mine
This is very important.
My + noun
This is my book.
Mine = no noun after it
This book is mine.
Compare:
This is my phone.
This phone is mine.
Both mean the phone belongs to me.
🎯 15. Your vs. yours
Your + noun
Is this your bag?
Yours = no noun
Is this bag yours?
Compare:
This is your car.
This car is yours.
💬 16. His
His is easy because it works as both a possessive adjective and possessive pronoun.
His + noun
This is his car.
His without a noun
This car is his.
🔤 17. Her vs. hers
This is another important pair.
Her + noun
This is her bag.
Hers = no noun
This bag is hers.
Compare:
That is her phone.
That phone is hers.
📘 18. Our vs. ours
Our + noun
This is our house.
Ours = no noun
This house is ours.
🧩 19. Their vs. theirs
Their + noun
This is their car.
Theirs = no noun
This car is theirs.
🔍 20. The easiest way to remember the difference
Look at what comes after the word.
Possessive adjective
my + noun
your + noun
his + noun
her + noun
our + noun
their + noun
Examples:
my book
her phone
their house
Possessive pronoun
No noun after it.
mine
yours
his
hers
ours
theirs
Examples:
The book is mine.
The phone is hers.
The house is theirs.
🧠 21. One sentence with all the important ideas
Look at:
I like my car. The car is mine.
Here:
I = subject
→ I do the action.
my = possessive adjective
→ my + car
mine = possessive pronoun
→ no noun after it.
Another:
She likes her phone. The phone is hers.
She = subject
her = possessive adjective
hers = possessive pronoun
🗂️ 22. They, their, and theirs
These three are easy to confuse.
They
Subject:
They have a car.
They do the action.
Their
Possessive adjective:
Their car is new.
Their + noun.
Theirs
Possessive pronoun:
The car is theirs.
No noun after theirs.
So:
They have their car.
The car is theirs.
🎯 23. We, our, and ours
We have a house.
Our house is big.
The house is ours.
Remember:
we = subject
our = our + noun
ours = ownership, no noun
💬 24. I, my, and mine
I have a book.
My book is new.
The book is mine.
Remember:
I = subject
my = my + noun
mine = ownership, no noun
🔤 25. He, his, and him
These three can be confusing.
He likes his car.
I like him.
Here:
He = subject
→ He does the action.
his = possessive adjective
→ his + car
him = object
→ him receives the action.
And:
The car is his.
Here his is a possessive pronoun.
So his can be used in two ways:
his + noun → his car
noun + is his → The car is his.
📘 26. She, her, and hers
She likes her car.
I like her.
The car is hers.
Here:
she = subject
her car = possessive adjective + noun
her = object
hers = possessive pronoun
🧩 27. Plural people
Remember the plural subjects from our earlier lessons.
My sisters = they
So:
They like their house.
And:
The house is theirs.
Another example:
John and Paul have a car.
John and Paul = they
So:
They have their car.
The car is theirs.
🔍 28. “My sister and I”
Remember:
My sister and I = we
So:
We like our house.
Not:
if the house belongs to us.
And:
The house is ours.
So:
My sister and I → we → our → ours
🧠 29. A complete table
| Person | Subject | Object | Possessive adjective | Possessive pronoun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| me | I | me | my | mine |
| you | you | you | your | yours |
| male | he | him | his | his |
| female | she | her | her | hers |
| thing | it | it | its | — |
| us | we | us | our | ours |
| them | they | them | their | theirs |
For beginners, focus especially on these:
I → me → my → mine
he → him → his → his
she → her → her → hers
we → us → our → ours
they → them → their → theirs
🗂️ 30. Common mistakes
✅ I like my car.
I is the subject.
✅ I like him.
Him is the object.
✅ This is my car.
Use my + noun.
✅ This car is mine.
Use mine when there is no noun after it.
✅ They like their car.
Use their + noun.
✅ The car is theirs.
No noun comes after theirs.
✅ She likes him.
If she likes the male person, use him.
✅ She likes her bag.
Use her + noun.
🎯 31. One very easy trick
Ask yourself:
Is the person doing the action?
→ Subject
They help me.
Is the person receiving the action?
→ Object
I help them.
Does the word come directly before a noun and show ownership?
→ Possessive adjective
Their car
Does it show ownership without a noun after it?
→ Possessive pronoun
The car is theirs.
💬 32. The four questions
When you are confused, ask these four questions:
🔤 33. Who does the action?
→ I / you / he / she / it / we / they
📘 34. Who receives the action?
→ me / you / him / her / it / us / them
🧩 35. Whose + noun?
→ my / your / his / her / its / our / their
🔍 36. Whose, without a noun?
→ mine / yours / his / hers / ours / theirs
🧠 37. The most important examples
Memorize these patterns:
I like her car.
The car is hers.
They help us with our work.
The work is ours.
He likes my phone.
The phone is mine.
She knows them and likes their house.
The house is theirs.
Quick Memory Guide
Subject
I, you, he, she, it, we, they
Does the action
Object
me, you, him, her, it, us, them
Receives the action
Possessive adjective
my, your, his, her, its, our, their
Comes before a noun
my book
their car
Possessive pronoun
mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs
Used without a noun after it
The book is mine.
The car is theirs.