POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS & ADJECTIVES EXERCISE 2 (ESL)
level: Intermediate (B1/B2)
A second exercise on the distinction between possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns, with each question providing the acceptable options in brackets so you can focus on the structural decision. If you haven’t done exercise 1 yet, start there.
Grammar review
Possessive adjectives and pronouns — using context clues
In this exercise, each sentence has a clue in brackets showing which words are acceptable (e.g. your/yours). Your job is to decide which form fits the sentence structure.
The rule in one sentence:
If a noun follows the possessive → adjective form. If the possessive stands alone (no noun after it) → pronoun form.
Examples from this exercise type:
“That’s not Patrick’s sweatshirt. It’s ______ (your/yours).”
No noun after the blank → pronoun → yours
“Did ______ (our/ours) mail come?”
Noun (mail) follows → adjective → our
Complete reference:
Adjective: my, your, his, her, its, our, their
Pronoun: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs
Watch out: Two questions in this exercise test the same words in different sentence positions to highlight exactly this adjective vs pronoun distinction.
In this exercise, each sentence has a clue in brackets showing which words are acceptable (e.g. your/yours). Your job is to decide which form fits the sentence structure.
The rule in one sentence:
If a noun follows the possessive → adjective form. If the possessive stands alone (no noun after it) → pronoun form.
Examples from this exercise type:
“That’s not Patrick’s sweatshirt. It’s ______ (your/yours).”
No noun after the blank → pronoun → yours
“Did ______ (our/ours) mail come?”
Noun (mail) follows → adjective → our
Complete reference:
Adjective: my, your, his, her, its, our, their
Pronoun: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs
Watch out: Two questions in this exercise test the same words in different sentence positions to highlight exactly this adjective vs pronoun distinction.
Complete each sentence with the correct possessive adjective or possessive pronoun from the options given in brackets.
1. That's not Patrick's sweatshirt. It's (your/yours).✓
2. Amelia didn't sleep in her own bed. She slept in (my/mine).✓
3. Adrian is one of (hers/her) best friends.✓
4. My mittens are white, while (your/yours) are gray.✓
5. My mittens are white, while (your/yours) mittens are gray.✓
6. Did (our/ours) mail come?✓
7. Our children go to university, but (their/theirs) don't.✓
8. Oliver isn't crazy about (our/ours) plan.✓
9. The only time (my/mine) brother calls me is when he needs something.✓
10. Is that your laptop or (my/mine)?✓
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER POSSESSIVE EXERCISES:
Possessive adjectives 1 (A1/A2)
Possessive adjectives 2 (A1/A2)
Possessive pronouns & adjectives 1 (B1/B2)
More grammar exercises
Possessive adjectives 1 (A1/A2)
Possessive adjectives 2 (A1/A2)
Possessive pronouns & adjectives 1 (B1/B2)
More grammar exercises
