Transcript Possessive Pronouns vs contractions # 90

Possessive
Pronouns
versus
Contractions
Mini-Lesson
#90
From the
UWF Writing Lab’s
101 Grammar
Mini-Lessons Series
Possessive Pronouns
Writers often mistake possessive pronouns
for contractions.
These are possessive pronouns: its, her, his,
our, mine, their, whose and your.
Remember, the possessive pronouns do
not require apostrophes.
Other common possessive personal
pronouns include his, hers, yours, ours,
theirs, and mine.
Contractions
The following are contractions: it’s (it is
and it has) they’re (they are), who’s (who
is), and you’re (you are).
Remember, a contraction is a shortened
form of a word or words in which the
omitted letters are replaced by an
apostrophe.
Also, remember that contractions are often
too informal for some academic and
professional writing.
Pronunciation
Words that have similar sounds are called
homophones. Examples of homophones are
the following: their, they’re, and there.
Because these words sound similar, people
often spell these words in their sentences
incorrectly.
Incorrect: Their were no questions following the speaker’s address.
Incorrect: They’re were no questions following the speaker’s address.
Correct: There were no questions following the speaker’s address.
Practice!
This situation, difficult though it was, was their’s
to make.
theirs
Their were no questions following the speaker’s
address.
there
Whose leading the workshops today, and whose
missing from the list of workshop speakers?
Who’s / who’s
More Practice!
The house is mines, the car is your’s, but the
bank account is our’s.
mine / yours / ours
That helmet is her’s, but the bike is your’s.
hers / yours