Possessives Exercise

Fill in the blanks with an appropriate possessive form.

1. I saw that .................... yesterday.

Alice's hot boyfriend
hot boyfriend of Alice
hot boyfriend of Alice's
When we want to use a possessive with a demonstrative (this / that), we use a construction
with of + possessive.

2. She is a .........................
John's close friend
close friend of John
close friend of John's
When we want to use an article with a possessive, we use a construction with of +
possessive.

3. That bag must be .................

her
her's
hers
Her is a possessive adjective. It goes before a noun. Hers is a possessive pronoun. It can
stand alone.

4. The dog is happy. ................. just had .............. breakfast.

It's; its
It's; it's
Its; its
It’s means it is or it has. Its is a possessive word like his or her.

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 Possessives Exercise

5. ................... has just invited me to her party.

A my friend
A friend of I
A friend of mine
We cannot use a possessive after an article. Instead we use a structure with of.

6. How is that ......................?

your brother
brother of you
brother of yours
We cannot use a possessive after an demonstrative adjective. Instead we use a structure
with of.

7. Other people’s lives always seem more exciting than ................

one's
one's own
ones own
One’s cannot be used as a pronoun. Instead we use one’s own.

8. Did you like this new idea ..................?

of the minister
of the minister's
We cannot usually use a possessive with another determiner. Instead we use a structure with
‘of+ possessive’.

9. That artist is a ....................

my friend
friend of I
friend of mine

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 Possessives Exercise

10. That ...................... has drunk all the milk.

your cat
cat of your
cat of yours
We cannot usually use a possessive with another determiner. Instead we use a structure with
‘of+ possessive’.

11. It is easy to lose ................ temper when one is criticized.

ones
one's own
one's
One's is a possessive form like his or her.

12. The teacher asked the students to submit their .................

assignment
assignments
Either could be used here
After a plural determiner, we normally use a plural pronoun.

PLAY AGAIN !
Answers
1. I saw that hot boyfriend of Alice’s yesterday.
2. She is a close friend of John’s.
3. That bag must be hers.
4. The dog is happy. It’s just had its breakfast.
5. A friend of mine has just invited me to her party.
6. How is that brother of yours?
7. Other people’s lives always seem more exciting than one’s own.
8. Did you like this new idea of the minister’s?
9. That artist is a friend of mine.

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 Possessives Exercise

10. That cat of yours has drunk all the milk.

11. It is easy to lose one’s temper when one is criticized.
12. The teacher asked the students to submit their assignments.

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