My, mine and possession

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Use my, your, his, her, its, our and their before a noun. Use mine, yours, his, hers, ours and theirs when the noun is understood. A singular person’s name can take apostrophe-s: Maya’s bag. A regular plural ending in s takes an apostrophe after s: the workers’ room.

Try the three exercise formats

Examples to compare

  • This is my ticket.
  • The blue ticket is mine.
  • The workers’ room is upstairs.

Watch the meaning and the limits

Its means belonging to it; it’s is a contraction of it is or it has. Possessive determiners such as my do not take an apostrophe. Context must establish who owns an item; a grammatical form alone cannot supply that information.

Read each example aloud, then change one detail to make a sentence you could use. Continue with focused practice when you want a different set.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Mistake: That bag is her.

Use: That bag is hers.

Use hers without a following noun; her normally goes before a noun.

Try the pattern

3 choose questions · 2 sentence completions · 2 word gaps. Read the reason after every answer. No timer.

Typed answers stay on this page. This guided set checks the requested construction; it does not judge general writing. Read the accepted answers and reasons.

Use it in your own sentence

Write one sentence about your own routine or situation. Check the subject, verb form and intended meaning against the rule above. A different sentence may need a different form: these exercises accept the reviewed answers for their stated context.

Try the next practice set, or choose another grammar point.

All drill answers and reasons

  1. This is ___ notebook. Use a form of I before a noun.

    Choices: my / mine / me

    Accepted: my

    My comes before notebook; mine stands without the noun.

  2. That notebook belongs to her. It is ___.

    Choices: hers / her / she

    Accepted: hers

    No noun follows, so use hers.

  3. The machine has stopped. ___ light is off. Use the possessive.

    Choices: Its / It’s / It

    Accepted: Its

    Its indicates the machine’s light; no apostrophe.

  4. Replace the words in brackets: This is ___ . (the notebook belonging to me)

    Accepted: my notebook

    My comes before the noun notebook.

  5. Use a possessive with friend: Rosa is ___ . (a friend of mine)

    Accepted: a friend of mine / one of my friends

    Both phrases describe Rosa as one of the speaker’s friends.

  6. This bag belongs to us. It is ___.

    Accepted: ours

    Ours stands alone; our needs a following noun.

  7. The dog is wagging ___ tail. Use the possessive form of it.

    Accepted: its

    Possessive its has no apostrophe; it’s means it is or it has.

Practice questions

How do the three exercise formats work?

Choose asks you to pick an answer. Complete the sentence asks you to type the missing phrase. Fill in the word asks for one word, or no article where stated. Every checked answer includes a reason.

Which typed answers are accepted?

Use the form and meaning requested in the prompt. Reviewed alternatives and contractions are accepted where they fit. Capital letters, surrounding spaces, straight or curly apostrophes and a final full stop, question mark or exclamation mark do not affect marking. The answer reference lists the accepted forms.

Are my typed answers sent or saved?

Typed answers stay on this page in your browser. They are not sent to the server or saved. If device progress is available, completing a set records only the activity and study points on this device.

Can this check my own writing or certify my level?

No. This is a small guided set with reviewed answers, not a general grammar checker or a level certificate. An unlisted answer does not mean it is always wrong in English. Read the prompt and the explanation for this construction.

Further reference: Cambridge English Grammar Today. The explanations, examples and exercises here are original; each lesson covers a useful pattern rather than every exception.