Possessive Adjectives (My/Your) vs. Possessive Pronouns (Mine/Yours) – English Grammar Exercises for A1
Read the text messages between two family members comparing their hotel rooms. Choose the best word to complete each sentence.
1 I just got to the hotel. _______ room is on the second floor.
(a) Ours
(b) Us
(c) Our
(d) We
2 Is this extra key _______? I found it on the table in our room.
(a) your
(b) yourself
(c) you
(d) yours
3 My bed is very soft, but _______ is quite hard.
(a) theirs
(b) their
(c) there’s
(d) them
4 We have a nice balcony in _______ room. Do they have one too?
(a) we
(b) our
(c) us
(d) ours
5 This is not my suitcase. _______ is the blue one next to the door.
(a) My
(b) Mine
(c) Me
(d) Mine’s
6 Their bathroom is much bigger than _______.
(a) our’s
(b) ours
(c) our
(d) we
7 I really love _______ view! We can see the whole beach from the window.
(a) our
(b) mine
(c) we’re
(d) ours
8 Look at the TV in their room. _______ is so much smaller!
(a) Our
(b) Us
(c) Ours
(d) Our one
9 Are you sure this towel is _______? It looks like the hotel’s towel.
(a) your’s
(b) your
(c) yours
(d) you
10 They forgot _______ room key at the reception desk again.
(a) they
(b) their
(c) them
(d) theirs
11 _______ air conditioner is broken, so we are going to their room for a while.
(a) Ours
(b) We
(c) The our
(d) Our
12 I think this phone charger is _______. I left mine at home.
(a) her
(b) hers
(c) she
(d) her’s
13 They have two large beds in their room, but we only have one in _______.
(a) our
(b) our’s
(c) us
(d) ours
14 Is the luggage in the hallway _______ or theirs?
(a) your one
(b) you
(c) yours
(d) your
15 We can’t find the Wi-Fi password for our room. Can we use _______?
(a) theirs
(b) their
(c) their’s
(d) them
16 _______ is the room at the end of the hall, next to the stairs.
(a) Our
(b) Our room’s
(c) Ours
(d) We
17 The manager gave us some free drinks, but he didn’t give them _______.
(a) theirs
(b) their
(c) there’s
(d) they
18 They complained about the noise in their room, but _______ is completely quiet.
(a) our’s
(b) us
(c) our
(d) ours
19 I don’t like my pillow. Can I trade it for _______?
(a) your
(b) yours
(c) you
(d) your one
20 They have a mini-fridge in that room, but there isn’t one in _______.
(a) our
(b) us
(c) ours
(d) our’s
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (c) Our
- Why it is correct: “Our” is a Possessive Adjective. It always needs a noun (“room”) immediately after it to show possession.
- Error Analysis: (a) “Ours” is a possessive pronoun and cannot be placed before a noun. (b) “Us” is an object pronoun (Structural error). (d) “We” is a subject pronoun and does not show possession.
2 (d) yours
- Why it is correct: “Yours” is a Possessive Pronoun used here to replace “your key” and avoid repetition.
- Error Analysis: (a) “your” is a common mistake; it is missing a noun after it. (b) “yourself” is a reflexive pronoun, which is incorrect in this context. (c) “you” is a subject/object pronoun (Structural error).
3 (a) theirs
- Why it is correct: “Theirs” acts as the subject of the second clause, replacing “their bed”.
- Error Analysis: (b) “their” lacks a noun. (c) “there’s” is a contraction for “there is”, acting as a strong distractor/meaning trap due to its similar pronunciation. (d) “them” is an object pronoun.
4 (b) our
- Why it is correct: We need a possessive adjective to modify the noun “room”.
- Error Analysis: (a) “we” is a subject pronoun. (c) “us” is an object pronoun. (d) “ours” cannot be used right before a noun.
5 (b) Mine
- Why it is correct: “Mine” is a possessive pronoun that replaces “My suitcase” and functions as the subject of the sentence.
- Error Analysis: (a) “My” is missing a noun. (c) “Me” is an object pronoun. (d) “Mine’s” is a common spelling mistake (possessive pronouns do not take apostrophes).
6 (b) ours
- Why it is correct: “Ours” replaces “our bathroom” to make a comparison.
- Error Analysis: (a) “our’s” is a severe spelling trap. (c) “our” is missing a noun. (d) “we” compares a bathroom to people, which is a meaning trap.
7 (a) our
- Why it is correct: The word “view” is a noun, so it must be preceded by the possessive adjective “our”.
- Error Analysis: (b) “mine” cannot be placed before a noun. (c) “we’re” means “we are” (Structural error). (d) “ours” cannot precede a noun.
8 (c) Ours
- Why it is correct: “Ours” replaces “Our TV” and acts as the subject of the sentence.
- Error Analysis: (a) “Our” lacks a noun. (b) “Us” is an object pronoun. (d) “Our one” is a direct, unnatural translation from other languages (word-by-word trap) and not authentic English.
9 (c) yours
- Why it is correct: Replaces “your towel” at the end of the sentence.
- Error Analysis: (a) “your’s” is an invalid word and a very common spelling mistake. (b) “your” lacks a noun. (d) “you” is a structural error.
10 (b) their
- Why it is correct: A possessive adjective is needed to modify the compound noun “room key”.
- Error Analysis: (a) “they” is a subject pronoun. (c) “them” is an object pronoun. (d) “theirs” cannot stand before a noun.
11 (d) Our
- Why it is correct: Placed at the beginning of the sentence, it modifies the noun “air conditioner”.
- Error Analysis: (a) “Ours” cannot precede a noun. (b) “We” doesn’t convey possession. (c) “The our” is a structural error (articles are not used before possessive adjectives in English).
12 (b) hers
- Why it is correct: This possessive pronoun replaces “her charger”.
- Error Analysis: (a) “her” requires a noun after it. (c) “she” is a subject pronoun. (d) “her’s” is an incorrect spelling.
13 (d) ours
- Why it is correct: “Ours” is used after the preposition “in” to replace “our room”.
- Error Analysis: (a) “our” lacks a noun. (b) “our’s” is a spelling error. (c) “us” is a meaning trap (it would mean “inside us” instead of “inside our room”).
14 (c) yours
- Why it is correct: The sentence is comparing the possessive pronoun “yours” with “theirs”.
- Error Analysis: (a) “your one” is awkward phrasing. (b) “you” is a structural error. (d) “your” is a common mistake because it lacks a noun.
15 (a) theirs
- Why it is correct: Replaces the phrase “their Wi-Fi password”.
- Error Analysis: (b) “their” lacks a noun. (c) “their’s” is grammatically non-existent (spelling error). (d) “them” functions as an object but loses the possessive meaning.
16 (c) Ours
- Why it is correct: Acts as the subject, perfectly replacing “Our room”.
- Error Analysis: (a) “Our” lacks a noun. (b) “Our room’s” is a clunky distractor. (d) “We” changes the meaning entirely.
17 (a) theirs
- Why it is correct: Replaces “their free drinks”.
- Error Analysis: (b) “their” lacks a noun. (c) “there’s” is a homophone trap. (d) “they” is a structural error.
18 (d) ours
- Why it is correct: Contrasting with “their room”, “ours” takes the place of “our room”.
- Error Analysis: (a) “our’s” is a spelling trap. (b) “us” is a meaning trap. (c) “our” lacks a noun.
19 (b) yours
- Why it is correct: Replaces “your pillow”.
- Error Analysis: (a) “your” lacks a noun. (c) “you” is a strong meaning trap (trading a pillow for a human being makes no sense). (d) “your one” is unnatural phrasing.
20 (c) ours
- Why it is correct: Replaces “our room” after the preposition “in”.
- Error Analysis: (a) “our” lacks a noun. (b) “us” is a meaning trap. (d) “our’s” is a spelling error.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Possessive Adjectives (My, Your, Our, Their): These words must always be followed by a noun. They act as modifiers to show who owns something. (Example: This is our room).
- Possessive Pronouns (Mine, Yours, Ours, Theirs): These stand alone and are never followed by a noun. They are used to replace a [Possessive Adjective + Noun] phrase that has already been mentioned in order to avoid repetition. (Example: Their room is big, but ours is small. -> ours = our room).
- The “Apostrophe” Trap: Never use an apostrophe (‘s) with possessive pronouns. Words like our’s, your’s, their’s, or mine’s are completely incorrect in English grammar.