What are possessive determiners and how are they used?

Possessive determiners are a type of determiner that indicate ownership or possession. They are used to show that something belongs to someone or something else. In English, the possessive determiners are "my," "your," "his," "her," "its," "our," and "their."

These determiners are used before a noun to indicate that the noun belongs to or is associated with the person or thing mentioned. For example:

- "This is my car." (The possessive determiner "my" shows that the car belongs to the speaker.)
- "Is this your book?" (The possessive determiner "your" shows that the book belongs to the person being addressed.)
- "His house is very big." (The possessive determiner "his" shows that the house belongs to a male person.)
- "Her cat is adorable." (The possessive determiner "her" shows that the cat belongs to a female person.)
- "Its color is blue." (The possessive determiner "its" shows that the color belongs to an object or animal.)
- "Our team won the game." (The possessive determiner "our" shows that the team belongs to the speaker and others.)
- "Their house is on the corner." (The possessive determiner "their" shows that the house belongs to a group of people.)

Possessive determiners can also be used without a noun to show possession in a more general sense. For example:

- "Is this pen yours?" (The possessive determiner "yours" is used without a noun to ask about ownership.)
- "The blue car is mine." (The possessive determiner "mine" is used without a noun to indicate ownership.)

It is important to note that possessive determiners are different from possessive pronouns. While possessive determiners are used before a noun, possessive pronouns are used on their own, without a noun. For example, "This is my book" (possessive determiner) versus "This book is mine" (possessive pronoun).

In summary, possessive determiners are used to indicate ownership or possession. They are placed before a noun to show that the noun belongs to someone or something.