Possessive Adjectives

CGPages1-6

7/28/10

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Page 36

Clear Grammar 1, 2nd edition: Keys to Grammar for English Language Learners
Keith S. Folse
http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=273333
Michigan ELT, 2010

2

Unit

Possessive Adjectives
(my, your, his, her, its, our, their)
and Demonstrative Words
(this, that, these, those)
Discover the Grammar
Read the information aboutTim Wilson’s family, and then answer the eight questions.

Line
1
2

I’d like to introduce you to my family.

3

This my wife. Her name is Karen.

4

This is our daughter. Her name is Anna.

5

This is our son. His name is Zachary, but his nickname is Zack.

6

36
36

I’m Tom. My name is Thomas, but everyone calls me Tom.

These are our cats. Their names are Smokey andEbony.

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7/28/10

12:06 PM

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Clear Grammar 1, 2nd edition: Keys to Grammar for English Language Learners
Keith S. Folse
http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=273333
Michigan ELT, 2010

2: Possessive Adjectives and Demonstratives

1. Underline three examples of my. What do you think my means? ______________________________________________________________________________________
2. When do you use my and when do you use I? ______________________________
______________________________________________________________________
3. Circle the three examples of our. What do you think the difference between my
and our is? ____________________________________________________________
4. Now underline his and her. When do you think we use his and her?___________
______________________________________________________________________
5. Put a box around their. When do you think we use their? Can we use their for only
animals? What about for people? __________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
6. Write M, W, or B to tell if the word is used for men, women, or both men andwomen.
a. my _____

c. his _____

e. her _____

b. your _____

d. our _____

f. their _____

7. Now look at all of the words you marked. These words are called possessive
adjectives. Put a wavy line under the word that comes after the possessive
adjectives. (Hint: You should have nine.) What kind of word comes after
possessive adjectives?
possessive adjectives +___________________
8. What questions do you have about this grammar?____________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

37

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12:06 PM

Page 38

Clear Grammar 1, 2nd edition: Keys to Grammar for English Language Learners
Keith S. Folse
http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=273333
Michigan ELT, 2010

38

Clear Grammar 1, 2nd Ed.

Grammar Lesson
Adjectives
Adjectives are words that describe nouns
or pronouns. Adjectives tell which (this
book, my book), how many (six books), or
what kind(red roses). Adjectives come in
front of nouns (a white ball) or after be
(the room is white).
Pronouns are words that take the place
of nouns. (Teresa is here.  She is here.)

Possessive Adjectives
Subject
Pronouns
I
you
he
she
it
we
they



Possessive
Adjectives
→
→
→
→
→
→
→

my
your

Examples
I like
You like

my

sandwich.

your

salad.his

He likes

his

soup.

her

She likes

her

fries.

its

The cat likes

its

food.

our

desserts.

their

food.

our

We like

their

They like

ONE-MINUTE LESSON
For an animal or a thing, we use the possessive adjective its. A giraffe gets its name
from an Arabic word. For a pet, people usually use his or her, not its. My dog’s
name is Brownie....