What are possessive pronouns and how are they used?

Possessive pronouns are a type of pronoun that show ownership or possession. They are used to replace nouns or noun phrases to indicate that something belongs to someone or something.

The most common possessive pronouns are: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, and theirs. These pronouns do not require an apostrophe to show possession, unlike possessive nouns.

For example, instead of saying "This is John's car," we can use the possessive pronoun and say "This car is his." Similarly, instead of saying "The book belongs to Mary," we can use the possessive pronoun and say "The book is hers."

Possessive pronouns can also be used to show possession in a more general sense. For instance, instead of saying "The team won the game. The victory belongs to the team," we can use the possessive pronoun and say "The team won the game. The victory is theirs."

In summary, possessive pronouns are used to indicate ownership or possession and can replace nouns or noun phrases in a sentence. They eliminate the need for repetitive noun usage and provide a concise way to express possession.