Possessives: His, Her, Their

What are possessives?

Possessives tell us who something belongs to. They come before a noun.

His ๐Ÿ‘ฆ

Use his when something belongs to a boy or a man.
Example: His book. ๐ŸŽ’๐Ÿ“š

Her ๐Ÿ‘ง

Use her when something belongs to a girl or a woman.
Example: Her ball. โšฝ

Their ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘งโ€๐Ÿ‘ฆ

Use their when something belongs to more than one person (many people).
Example: Their house. ๐Ÿ 

Where do these words go?

They come just before the thing they belong to (the noun).

his + noun โ€” his pen
her + noun โ€” her school bag
their + noun โ€” their books

Note for learners

Do not use an apostrophe for these words. (We write his, her, their โ€” not hi's, her's, their's.)

Examples from school and home (Kenya)
  • Peter has a bag. It is his bag. ๐ŸŽ’
  • Aisha has a book. It is her book. ๐Ÿ“–
  • The children have balls. They have their balls. โšฝโšฝ
  • Baba and Mama have a shamba. It is their shamba. ๐ŸŒฝ๐ŸŒพ
Practice: Choose the correct word โ€” his, her or their
  1. Maria has a pencil. It is ___ pencil. ๐Ÿ‘ง
  2. Tom has a blue shirt. It is ___ shirt. ๐Ÿ‘ฆ
  3. My friends have school books. They are ___ books. ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘งโ€๐Ÿ‘ฆ
  4. Uncle John has a car. It is ___ car. ๐Ÿš—
  5. The boys and girls have lunch boxes. They are ___ lunch boxes. ๐Ÿฅช
  6. Nurse Amina has a hat. It is ___ hat. ๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€โš•๏ธ
  7. James and Ken have a football. It is ___ football. โšฝ
  8. Sheila has a dress. It is ___ dress. ๐Ÿ‘—
Answers
  1. her
  2. his
  3. their
  4. his
  5. their
  6. her
  7. their
  8. her
Fun tip

Point to a person and ask: โ€œWhose is this?โ€ The answer will be his, her or their. Practice with family at home or friends at school! ๐Ÿ˜Š


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