Possessive Gender Pronouns: 9 Facts You Should Know

In this article we shall be looking into possessive gender pronouns with the aid of possessive gender pronouns.

Possessive gender pronouns in simple terms can be referred to as the pronouns that take the place of the nouns, show the possession and also reveal the gender of the nouns that they are replacing.

The following examples will give you a basic overview about possessive gender pronouns.

• 1. The pink dress in the cupboard is mine.
• 2. Do not touch the things which are not yours.
• 3. I am exchanging my laptop for hers.
• 4. The big mansion in the end of the street is theirs.
• 5. The project proposal that will be selected is obviously ours.

The italicized words in the above sentences are the possessive gender pronouns. They help us to know the gender of the noun as it shows possession or ownership.

Can possessive pronouns be gender specific?

Yes, indeed, possessive pronouns can be gender specific.

Example: The blue color bag is hers.

‘Hers’ is the possessive gender pronoun utilized in this sentence. ‘Hers’ here has replaced a female noun thereby referring to feminine gender and shows the possession of the blue color bag to that of a girl or a woman.

Why possessive pronouns are specific to gender?

Possessive pronouns are gender specific as they tell to us to which gender of the replaced noun the possession or ownership belongs to.

Example: I lost my wallet and he lost his.

‘His’ is the possessive gender pronoun utilized in this sentence. ‘His’ here has replaced a male noun thereby referring to masculine gender and shows the possession of the wallet to that of a boy or a man.

What are the possessive gender pronouns?

The several possessive gender pronouns are mine, yours, ours, hers, his, its, and theirs.

Example: The car that is parked near the tree is ours.

‘Ours’ is the possessive gender pronoun used in the above sentence. ‘Ours’ here has replaced a plural first person noun, which can include both masculine and feminine; or just masculine or feminine. ‘Ours’ does not take any particular gender and hence is gender-neutral. ‘Ours’ shows the possession of the car to more than one person.

Example: The file that is on the table is hers.

‘Hers’ is the possessive gender pronoun utilized in this sentence. ‘Hers’ here has replaced a female noun and refers to feminine gender and shows the possession of the file to that of a girl or a woman.

Types of possessive gender pronouns

1. Possessive gender masculine pronouns

2. Possessive gender feminine pronouns

3. Possessive gender neutral pronouns

Example: I did not have a scale so Ugan lent me his.

The possessive gender pronoun utilized in this sentence is ‘his’. ‘His’ here has replaced the name of a male person ‘Ugan’ (masculine noun) and hence it can be called as the possessive gender male pronoun.

Possessive gender neutral pronouns

Possessive gender neutral pronouns are the ones that substitute for an unspecified antecedent (noun). Possessive gender neutral pronouns are the same irrespective of the masculine or the feminine gender of the nouns that are showing ownership and that they are replacing. It includes all first person and second person possessive pronouns and the third person plural possessive pronoun. ‘Mine’, ‘ours’, ‘yours’, and ‘theirs’ are the several possessive gender neutral pronouns.

Example: I do not have a sweater. Can you please lend me yours?

‘Yours’ is the possessive gender pronoun used in this sentence and it is representing neutral gender, as we do not know which gender it is referring to. ‘Yours’ shows the belongingness of the sweater to the noun (masculine or feminine) it is replacing. ‘Yours’ is not gender specific and can be used in the place of both the masculine and feminine nouns.

Possessive gender feminine pronouns

Possessive gender feminine pronouns as the name itself suggests show the possession of the object to a female noun. Thus these pronouns are used in the place of only a feminine noun (name of a girl or a female person). ‘Hers’ is the only possessive gender feminine pronoun.

Example: Why are you always meddling with the ball which is hers?

The possessive gender pronoun that is utilized here is ‘hers’. ‘Hers’ here helps us identify the gender of the noun as female. ‘Hers’ is used as a replacement to name of a woman or a girl and it shows possession of the ball with that of a girl.

Possessive gender male pronouns

Possessive gender male pronouns are nothing but the possessive pronouns that replace nouns with the masculine gender. The possessive gender male pronouns help in establishing the ownership or possession of an object to a male gender. They take the place of a masculine noun. The only possessive gender male pronoun is ‘his’.

Example: My mother did not have winter shoes and so Vilaksh lent my mother his.

The possessive gender pronoun that is utilized here is ‘his’. ‘His’ here helps us identify the gender of the noun as male. ‘His’ is used as a replacement to name of the boy ‘Vilaksh’ and it establishes the ownership of the winter shoes to Vilaksh.

Possessive gender pronoun examples

• 1. The antique store in Mahatma Gandhi Road is ours.
• 2. Sushi did not have a party gown to wear, so, Ruhi lent Sushi hers.
• 3. The dark blue skirt which is being stitched is mine.
• 4. Is that mobile phone yours?
• 5. The beautiful ship that stands so majestically on the shore is theirs.
• 6. Since, I did not carry a bag, Rakesh gave me his.
• 7. The blue dress is yours and the black dress is mine.

Possessive gender pronoun examples with detailed explanations

1. The antique store in Mahatma Gandhi Road is ours.

‘Ours’ is the possessive gender pronoun utilized in this sentence in order to represent the gender-neutral. ‘Ours’ can be used as replacement to both the masculine and feminine nouns and it remains unchanged for both. ‘Ours’ thus shows the possession of the antique store to a gender-neutral noun.

2. Sushi did not have a party gown to wear, so, Ruhi lent Sushi hers.

‘Hers’ is the possessive gender pronoun utilized here to represent the female gender. With the usage of the possessive gender feminine pronoun ‘hers’ we can identify that the noun that it has replaced is Ruhi (name of a girl). ‘Hers’ thus shows the belongingness of the party gown to Ruhi (a female noun).

3. The dark blue skirt which is being stitched is mine.

‘Mine’ is the possessive gender pronoun utilized. It is used here to represent the gender-neutral. ‘Mine’ can be used as replacement to both the masculine and feminine nouns (name of a boy or a girl) and it remains unchanged for both. ‘Mine’ thus shows the possession of the dark blue skirt to a gender-neutral noun.

4. Is that mobile phone yours?

The possessive gender pronoun here in this sentence is ‘yours’. ‘Yours’ is a possessive gender neutral pronoun as it can take the place of either a masculine or feminine noun. The possessive gender neutral pronoun ‘yours’ remain unchanged for both the genders. ‘Yours’ here is used to show the ownership of the mobile phone to a gender neutral noun (name of a girl or a boy).

5. The beautiful ship that stands so majestically on the shore is theirs.

‘Theirs’ is the possessive gender pronoun utilized in this sentence in order to represent the gender-neutral. ‘Theirs’ is plural and can substitute both the masculine and feminine nouns and it remains unchanged for both.  The possessive gender neutral pronoun ‘theirs’ thus shows the possession of the the beautiful ship to a gender-neutral noun (more than one person).

6. Since, I did not carry a bag, Rakesh gave me his.

‘His’ is the possessive gender pronoun utilized here to represent the male gender. With the usage of the possessive gender male pronoun ‘his’ we can identify that the noun that it has replaced is Rakesh (name of a boy). ‘His’ hence shows the possession of the bag to Rakesh (a masculine noun).

7. The blue dress is yours and the black dress is mine.

‘Yours’ and ‘Mine’ are the possessive gender neutral pronouns utilized. ‘Yours’ and ‘Mine’ can replace both the masculine and feminine nouns. ‘Yours’ shows the ownership of the blue dress to a second person gender-neutral noun and ‘mine’ shows the possession of the black dress to a first person gender- neutral noun.

Can indefinite pronouns be gender specific?

Indefinite pronouns are gender neutral pronouns as they can refer to both the male and female nouns. They are the same irrespective of the gender.

Example: Many are yet to join.

‘Many’ is the indefinite pronoun here and it does not have any particular gender. Hence, ‘many’ can be said as gender-neutral indefinite pronoun as it can refer to both male and female genders.

Conclusion

Possessive gender pronouns thus are pronouns that not only replace the nouns and shows possession. It reveals to us the gender of the noun that shows the ownership or possession.