Possessive determiners: are you getting it right?

You want to mention a laptop that belongs to your manager, Elena. Which sentence is correct?

Lots of B1 learners pause over possessive determiners. This short practice page helps you identify who owns or connects to a person, place, or object: three worked examples, one quick question and the slip to watch for.

Three worked examples

  1. Marcus left his laptop charger on our conference table.

    Why: Marcus is one man, so his shows the charger is his; our shows the table belongs to the speaker's team.

  2. The twins packed their lunches before the school bus arrived.

    Why: Their matches a plural owner, the twins, and comes straight before the noun lunches.

  3. The company updated its holiday policy in March.

    Why: Its is the possessive for a thing or organisation, with no apostrophe.

Try it

You want to mention a laptop that belongs to your manager, Elena. Which sentence is correct?

  1. Elena forgot her laptop in the conference room.
  2. Elena forgot their laptop in the conference room.
  3. Elena forgot its laptop in the conference room.
Show the answer

A. Elena forgot her laptop in the conference room. — Her correctly matches a single female owner.

Want more like this? Try the full lesson free.

Common slip

A common slip is saying “Elena forgot their laptop in the conference room.” when you mean “Elena forgot her laptop in the conference room.”. Say both versions out loud once: the second is the one to keep.

Practise it free

Listen, type what you hear and test yourself in the full lesson: Possessive Determiners: Choose the Right Form on MicroEnglish.

Originally on microenglish.com · Lesson 1444 · All MicroEnglish channels

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