my / your / his / her / our / their

Linking a Thing to Its Owner

Level 1

Possessive determiners stand before the thing owned: my bag, their table. These shared English forms remain useful in Singlish alongside other local possession constructions.

How It Works

My, your, his, her, our and their normally go before a noun naming the thing associated with someone. The possessor is expressed in the determiner: her bag is the bag linked to her, not a statement about the bag's gender.

These familiar English forms work in local speech. They can describe ownership, family relationships or other associations. Compare my bag with This bag my sister one: the latter is a different local pattern in which one stands for the thing owned. Do not add both patterns mechanically to the same noun phrase.

Examples (4)

  1. My bag on the floor.

    My bag is on the floor.

  2. Your table is ready.

    Your table is ready.

  3. Her brother coming later.

    Her brother is coming later.

  4. Their tickets are with us.

    We have their tickets with us.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

my / your / his / her / our / theirLevel 1Linking a Thing to Its Owner

Learn This First

Identify the person associated with a noun before choosing a possessive determiner.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.