What are possessive pronouns in English. Possessive pronouns in English. English pronouns with translation and pronunciation: meaning and transcription

A pronoun is a part of speech that is used instead 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: “Peter Vasilyevich’s shoes” and “his shoes”. in English, as well as in Russian, they answer the questions “whose” (Whose?), “to whom does it belong?”.

This is my hat. - This is my hat.

Her cat trampled on my tulips! - Her cat trampled on 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 whether they take a grammatical form - absolute or relative. Pronouns in the 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 Russian the form of the pronoun has not changed. In both cases, we use the same word - "my". However, these two sentences have a different semantic emphasis. The second statement is more categorical. But it's not only that. An independent possessive pronoun is often necessary in order not to clutter up speech with unnecessary repetition. 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? (This is your car?).

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

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

Is it yours? (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. A pronoun can be followed by another adjective. For example: my funny red ball is 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 (All my balls are red).

A summary table of pronouns in English is given below.

Personal pronounsPossessive pronouns (relative form)Possessive pronouns (absolute form)Example
ImymineI am a musician. This is my violin. The violin is mine.
WeouroursWe are students. This is our room. That computer is ours.
YouyouryoursYou are a student. Is that book yours? Is that your book?
HehishisHe is a freelancer. This is his site. This site is his.
SheherhersShe is playing her violin. The violin is hers.
ItitsitsIt is a cat. This is its house and this mat is its.
TheytheirtheirsThey are good friends. They are walking with their children. Children are theirs.

Main difficulties

Learning forms is usually easy, just like understanding and translating English texts. But when translating back, from Russian into English, some difficulties arise. For example, "I called him" and "this is his hat." It would seem that we see here two completely identical words - “his”. 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 a pronoun in the genitive case, answering the question "who?", respectively, here you need to use the pronoun he in the genitive case - him.

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

How to learn possessive pronouns in English

On the advice of experienced teachers, it will not be difficult to study grammar if you follow these rules: take your time, analyze all the grammar rules with examples, and make tables yourself. In fact, pronouns are one of the simplest topics that 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 to consolidate the above material, which is found in textbooks or tests, is sentences with missing words, where you need to insert the correct form of the possessive pronoun. In most cases, to master this topic, it is enough to complete 4-5 of these exercises and analyze several texts.

Each personal pronoun in English corresponds to a specific possessive pronoun - Possessive Pronoun, which answers the question Whose? / Whose? English possessive pronouns do not have gender and number, which means that their form is unchanged and does not depend on the noun or other part of speech to which this pronoun refers:

  • my dog ​​- my dog;
  • my dogs - my dogs.

The possessive pronoun my does not respond to a change in the number of the noun.

  • my granny - my grandmother;
  • my father - my dad.

The possessive pronoun my does not respond to a change in the gender of the noun. All other possessive pronouns behave in a similar way.

In English there is two types of possessive pronouns.

  1. Dependent form - Сonjoint form.

The dependent form of possessive pronouns is always used only before nouns. You cannot use it separately! Such pronouns replace the article.

  1. Absolute form - Absolute

The absolute form of possessive pronouns is always used without a subsequent noun - independently.

Table of possessive pronouns in English.

This is my sweater. – This sweater is mine.

This is my sweater. This sweater is mine.

Where is your dog? – Mine is here.

Where is your dog. - Mine is here.

My room is messy, but hers is a wonderful room.

My room is a mess, but hers is beautiful!

Note the use of absolute possessive pronouns in the examples. They are not followed by a noun, unlike the dependent form:

Absolute possessive pronouns. Absolute possessive pronouns.

Possessive pronouns in the absolute form are often used as part of of-constructions:

  • a brother of mine - my brother;
  • a cousin of hers - her cousin.

Mr. Black is a good business partner of theirs. “Mr. Black is their good business partner.

Russian possessive pronoun mine translated into English either by one of the possessive pronouns or by a phrase with own.

Molly is in her office. Molly is in her office.

Phrase with own we'll use when we want to underline a value of our own:

  • my own business - my own business, a business that belongs to me.

In a phrase with own, you must use the preposition of if the construction comes after the noun:

my own flat – a flat of my own

Every day when we speak Russian, we use possessive pronouns in a variety of sentences. We say: "my book", "his car". We can make a sentence: "He loves his dog." How to make such sentences or phrases in English? In this lesson, you will learn about possessive pronouns in English.

Number

Face

Personal pronoun in the general case

Translation

I(always capitalized)

you

he

she[ʃiː]

it[ɪt]

it (replaces the names of inanimate objects and animals)

we

you

they[reɪ]

Each personal pronoun corresponds to possessive pronoun.

Such a pronoun answers the question: WHOSE? - WHOSE?

The possessive pronoun is always placed before the noun in question. It shows who owns a particular item.

Book- my book (possessive pronoun) MY stands before the word book. It shows who owns the book.)

house- my house (The possessive pronoun MY comes before the word house. It shows who owns the house).

We are very lucky with English possessive pronouns. They do not change either in gender or in number and do not depend on the word that comes after it.

my book. - My book

My house. - My house.

my toys. - My toys.

Pronouns in Russian change.

And with the English pronoun everything is simpler, it will always remain the same as it was in the first phrase.

This is my book. - It's my book.

This is my house. - This is my house.

These are my toys. - These are my toys.

Look at the table:

Possessive pronouns

Examples

my (my, my, my, my)

its (his, her)

our (ours, ours, ours, ours)

your (your, yours, yours, yours)

An exercise

Complete the sentence with possessive pronouns.

  1. This is me and this is ______bag.
  2. We are Tom and Kate and this is ______dog.
  3. This is my father and this is _____car.
  4. This is Kate and this is_______ doll.
  5. This is my dog ​​and this is______ bone.
  6. These are my aunt and my uncle and this is _____house.
  7. This is you and this is ______pen.

Right answers:

  1. This is me and this is my bag.
  2. We are Tom and Kate and this is our dog.
  3. This is my father and this is his car.
  4. This is Kate and this is her doll.
  5. This is my dog ​​and this is its bone.
  6. These are my aunt and my uncle and this is their house.
  7. This is you and this is your pen.

Note

When we speak Russian, we often use pronouns: own, own, own.

It is not at all difficult for us to construct sentences such as:

Take your books;

I see my friends;

He loves his dog.

But in English there is no possessive pronoun that corresponds to the word "OWN". And already familiar possessive pronouns will help us to translate such sentences.

In order to correctly compose a sentence, you need to choose the appropriate possessive pronoun in meaning.

For example:

I love my dog. (You will need the possessive pronoun my). I love my dog.

He loves my dog. - He loves his dog.

We love my dog. - We love our dog.

As you can see, if there is only one pronoun in Russian, then in English you will have to pay attention to who owns the subject.

Note.

Possessive pronouns in absolute form.

My dog ​​- my dog

His book - his book

Answering the question: Whose book is this? - Whose book is this?

Most often, we answer briefly in Russian - mine / his.

How to do it in English?

Whose book is this? - It's mine.

Whose book is this? - My.

Compare offer.

This is my dog. (This is my dog).

This dog is mine. (This dog is mine).

In the sentence this dog is mine, the pronoun is in the absolute form.

An absolute possessive pronoun does not require a noun after itself.

This dog is mine. We do not need to say again that we are talking about a dog.

The possessive pronoun in its basic form always comes before the noun.

My dog. - My dog.

My cat. - My cat.

His car. - His car.

And possessive pronouns in the absolute form replace the noun.

This cat is mine. - This cat is mine.

This dog is his. - This dog is his.

Whose book is this? - It's mine.

Is this your hat?

No, it isn't. This hat is his.

Each possessive pronoun in the basic form corresponds to a possessive pronoun in the absolute form.

Read the table.

Possessive pronouns

Main form

Absolute form

Read the dialogue:

A: Whose bag is this? Is this yours?

B: No, it isn't. It isn't mine. My bag is white.

A: Oh, is it your mother's bag?

B: No, it isn't hers. Her bag is red.

A: I think it's Nick's bag?

B: No, it isn't his. His bag is black.

A: Then whose bag is it? Oh, it is my bag! It is my new bag!

Possessive (Possessivecase)

So, now you know how to pronounce words in English that indicate the ownership of an object: my book is my book, his car is his car.

But very often such words are not enough. For example, we always say: "This is my mother's book" or "This is my father's car" or we can say: "These are the books of our friends."

How to be then, how to translate such phrases into English? To cope with the task, we should learn about the possessive case. And here while studying in English we are lucky again.

There are 6 cases in Russian, and only 2 in English: common (Common Case) and possessive (Possessive Case).

Nouns in the common case answer the question: who? and what? But nouns in the possessive case answer the question: whose? - whose?

In the possessive case, nouns can be singular or plural.

For English nouns in singular the possessive case is formed with a noun, after which we put an apostrophe and add the ending -S.

Mother bag - mother's bag.

Father car - father's car.

If we want to indicate the name of the person who owns this or that thing, then we add an apostrophe to this name, and then the ending -S.

Kate doll - Kate doll

Bobby cat - Bobby's cat

The possessive case for plural nouns is formed only with the help of an apostrophe.

After all, most of these nouns already have the ending -S. It is after this ending that we put the apostrophe.

My friends books. - Books of my friends.

Please note that when pronouncing the possessive case, you need to be very careful.

My friend book. - My friend's book.

My friends books.- Books of my friends.

Nothing changes in pronunciation. The only difference you see is in the spelling.

My parentsroom. My parent's room.

The boys shoes. Boys shoes.

Some English words do not form plurals according to the rules.

For example:

Child - children (child - children)

Man - men (man - men)

Woman - women (woman - women)

Mouse - mice (mouse - mice)

For such nouns, the possessive case is formed in the same way as for singular nouns, that is, an apostrophe and the ending -S are added to the word.

The child toy - child's toy

The children's toys - children's toys

The man's hat - a man's hat

The men's hats - men's hats

The ending -S for nouns in the possessive case will be read differently.

Now you know how the possessive case is formed in nouns denoting animate objects, that is, when we talk about people or animals.

But what about the rest of the words? How, for example, to say: "roof of the house", or "trunk of a tree"?

In such cases, the preposition OF will come to our aid.

And we can say "roof of the house" as follows:

The roof the house - the roof of the house.

And the "tree trunk" will sound:

The trunk the tree - tree trunk.

Bibliography

Biboletova M.Z., Denisenko O.A., Trubaneva N.N. Enjoy English. Grade 2 - Title, 2011.

Vereshchagina I.N. ., Bondarenko K.A. Pritykina T . A. English textbook for grade 2 schools with in-depth study of English. - 6-9 ed. - M.: Education, 2006-2008.

Kaufman, Kaufman: English language. Happy English.ru. Happy English.ru. Textbook for grade 2. - Title, 2013.

Homework

  1. Translate into English
    His dog, her cat, my toy, their book, your pen;
    This is Ben's notebook.
    This is my uncle's car.
    These are Steve's friends.
    The color of the bus is yellow.
  2. Complete the exercises in the link ().
  1. Favorite English ().
  2. Langust().
  3. English online ().

Possessive pronouns (possessive pronouns) in English express belonging and answer the question whose? whose? for example: my - mine, your - yours etc.
They have two forms - dependent and independent. Possessive pronouns in the dependent form are sometimes called possessive pronouns-adjectives. Possessives in the independent form are sometimes called possessive noun pronouns.

Face dependent form
(defines noun)
independent form
(replaces noun)
Singular
1st person my my, my, my, my mine my, my, my, my
2nd person your your yours your
3rd person his his
her her
its his her
his his
hers her
its* his her
Plural
1st person our[ˈaʊə] ours, ours, ours, ours ours[ˈaʊəz] ours, ours, ours, ours
2nd person your yours, yours, yours, yours yours yours, yours, yours, yours
3rd person their[ðeə] them theirs[ðeəz] them

*Note! Possessive pronoun its spelled without an apostrophe. with an apostrophe ( it's) is an abbreviation for the phrase it is.

1. Possessive pronouns in dependent form are always used only together with the corresponding nouns. not used in this case.

Examples:My dress is red. – My dress is red.
Our interview was interesting. – Our interview was interesting.

2. Possessive pronouns in the independent form replace nouns with themselves, i.e. after this form, nouns are never put. The article in this case, similarly, as in the dependent form, is not used.

Examples: This is my cap. This cap is mine. - This is my cap. This cap is mine.
This is not her bag hers is brown. This is not her bag, hers is brown.

3. When translating from Russian into English, pronouns mine, confusion can arise, since this pronoun can refer to all three persons, singular and plural. In order to correctly translate the pronoun, it is necessary to pay attention to the person of the subject in the sentence.

Examples:I washed their arms. - I have washed my hands.
She is washed their arms. - She has washed her hands.
I don't have a pen. You can you give me my(handle)? I have no pen. Can you give me yours?

4. In English possessive pronouns in dependent form are used more often than in Russian. They are used when before the corresponding Russian nouns the pronoun own (own) is absent.

Examples: I told sister about it. – I told my sister about it.
He bought wife present. – He bought his wife a present.

Personal pronouns in English include the following pronouns:

I, you, he/she/it, we, they, me, him, her, it, us, them

Personal pronouns refer to persons or things in terms of their relation to the speaker. For example, I denotes the speaker we- speaking together with another person or persons, and they- anyone other than the speaker and his interlocutor.

They may change according to persons, number, gender (only in the 3rd person) and case (nominative and object).

Table of personal pronouns in English:

Nominative and object cases of personal pronouns

Personal pronounsin the nominative case in a sentence they usually play subject role (subject) :

I am Peter. (I am Peter.)

a in the objective case - additions(object):

This ice cream was bought for me. (This ice cream was bought for me.)

Also, the object case can be used when there is nothing else in the sentence besides the personal pronoun:

Who called me? (Who called me?) I did. / Me. (I.)

Order of personal pronouns in English

  • If several personal pronouns belong to one verb, then their order is usually this: third and second person before the first:

He and I both like sailing. (Both he and I love sailing.)

  • second person before third:

You and she should make it up with each other, you were such a nice couple. (You should make up with her, you were such a wonderful couple.)

Possessive pronouns (PossessivePronouns)

Possessive pronouns in English include the following pronouns:

my, your, his, her, its, our, their, mine, yours, his, hers, ours, their

Possessive pronouns reflect the belonging or connection of objects.

My book is black and his is yellow. (My book is black and his is yellow.)

They may be in joinable (cojoint) or absolute (absolute) form.

Joined possessive pronouns (my, your, his, her, our, their)always used only along with the corresponding noun :

my cat is 5 years old. (My cat is 5 years old.)

a absolute (mine, yours, his, hers, ours, yours, theirs)replace them:

What do cats like to drink? - Mine likes milk. (What do cats drink? - I like milk.)

Table of possessive pronouns:

Note!!!

  • Possessive pronoun its spelled no apostrophe.

Writing with an apostrophe (it's) is an abbreviation for the phrase it is.

  • The pronoun in the attached form always comes before the noun. If a noun is used together with an adjective(s), then the possessive pronoun is placed before them:

I've lost my new keys. (I lost my new keys.)

  • Possessive pronouns in English are often used where they are absent in Russian, but are implied:

He put his hand into his pocket. (He put his hand in his pocket.)

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns in English include the following pronouns:

this, that, these, those, such

Demonstrative pronouns are used to refer to things that are nearby. (this, these) or at some distance (that, those) from the speaker.

This house is not mine, mine is that green cottage next to it. (This house is not mine, mine is that green cottage next to it.)

They are shaped the only and plural.

Table of demonstrative pronouns:

Note!!!

  • Demonstrative pronouns can describe not only closeness in space, but also in time, for example, the pronoun thisindicates the moment of the conversation or the current period of time: This summer is so rainy. (This summer is so rainy.)

That describes timeinpastorfuture: Many small companies went bankrupt that summer. (Many small companies went bankrupt that summer.)

  • In phrases like thiscountry, thiscity etc. pronoun thisindicates the country in which the speaker is located, therefore, when translating it, you need to take into account the context. (I find the system of education in this country too confusing. (I find the British education system too confusing.)
  • In addition, demonstrative pronouns include such, which indicates a certain quality of an item. Such small details will make your flat look cozy. (Small details like these can make your apartment feel cozier.)

Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns in English include the following pronouns:

some, something, somebody, someone, anyone, anything, anyone, anyone

Indefinite pronouns are used when you don't know or don't want to accurately name a person. They denote an indefinite object or objects.

English pronouns ending in -body and -one , do not differ from each other: Somebody is laughing. / Someone is laughing. (Someone laughs.)

Some, Any

Pronouns some and any may mean:

Someone, something, somebodyanyone, anything, anybody

Pronouns somebody, somebody, something,anyone, anything, anybody can be used:

The pronoun one means all people in general and is translated into Russian using indefinite personal constructions. At the same time, it has a rather formal coloring; in everyday speech, it may be more appropriate to use instead you or we: One must follow all the instructions below. (You must follow all of the instructions below.) You must follow my advice. (You should follow my advice.)

Also pronoun one can use to avoid repetition already mentioned in the context of a noun: We have better samples of fabric, this one (sample) is rather old. (We have better fabric samples, this one (sample) pretty old.)

Negative pronouns

Negative pronouns in English include the following pronouns:

no, nothing, nobody, no one, none, neither

Negative pronouns are used to convey the meaning of negation in a sentence . Our support service will leave nobody without an answer. (Our support team will not leave anyone unanswered.)

Note!!!

Possibly in English only one negative !

I didn't say anything bad to him.
I didn't tell him nothing bad. (not right) I told him nothing bad. (right)

Negative pronouns no, nothing, nobody, no one, none, neither:

reflexive pronouns (Reflexive Pronouns)

Reflexive pronouns in English include the following pronouns:

myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, yourself, yourselves, yourself

Reflexive pronouns are used when a person or thing performs an action directed at itself. In Russian, they correspond to the particle -sya or pronoun myself. Little Timmy fell and hurt himself.(Baby Timmy fell and hurt himself.)

Table of reflexive pronouns:

  • Reflexive pronouns can be used to emotional amplification, in which case they can be called "amplifying pronouns" (emphatic pronouns): But you yourself saw it! / You saw it yourself! (But you yourself saw everything!)
  • reflexive pronoun oneself can be used for toeveryonepeople: The only thing I can recommend to achieve success is to treat oneself with self-criticism. (The only advice I can give you for success is to be self-critical about yourself.)
  • Differences with Russian

You need to remember that after some English verbs (for example, feel, afford), unlike Russian, the word "self" is not used: I feel terrible. (I feel terrible.)

  • Refundablepronounsnotare usedafterverbswash, bath, shave, (un)dress and change (clothes) : I dressed quickly, had my breakfast and left for work. (I quickly got dressed, had breakfast and left for work.)

Relative pronouns(relative pronouns)

The relative pronouns in English include the following pronouns:

who, whose, which, that

Relative pronouns connect the subordinate clause with the main one, while they differ from conjunctions in that they are members subordinate clause: I know the lecturer who will make today's report. (“who” is the subject of the subordinate clause) (I know the lecturer who will be presenting today.)

The use of pronouns who, whose, which, that:

Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns include the following:

who, what, which, whose, whoever, whatever, whichever

Interrogative pronouns ("WH-words") are used to construct special questions. They denote persons or objects unknown to the questioner, which must be named in response to the question.

The use of interrogative pronouns

  • Of all these pronouns, only who varies by case and has an "official" sounding form of the object case whom, however, in colloquial speech, its use is optional: Who / Whom did you invite for your birthday? (Who did you invite to your birthday party?)
  • Pronoun which, unlike what, implies choice between a limited set of persons or objects: I'd paint my room in blue or yellow. Which of the colors do you like more? (I would paint my room blue or yellow. Which of these (two) colors do you like more?)
    I have no idea what color to use in my room. What colors do you like? (I have no idea what color to paint my room. What colors (any) do you like?)
  • Pronouns whoever, whoever and whatever in questions convey amazement or indignation:Whatever is this thing on the floor? (What's that on the floor?)