The grammar of her and hers, his and him

Readers responding to yesterdays post questioned the grammar of her and hers. I wrote ‘Hers was an improvised bamboo stick. Hers was light, hollow, with a comfortable diameter that was easy to hold.’ Below is the grammar and how to use her and hers, his and him.

Possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives show ownership, possession, and belonging.

Examples:

Her cup is white.

[her is a possessive adjective because it describes the noun, cup]

The white cup belongs to her.

[her is a possessive pronoun because there is no noun]

The white cup is hers.

[hers is a possessive pronoun]

Hers is white.

[hers is a possessive pronoun]

His cup is red.

[his is a possessive adjective because it describes the noun, cup]

The red cup belongs to him.

[him is a possessive pronoun because there is no noun]

The red cup is his.

[his is a possessive pronoun]

His is white.

[his is a possessive pronoun]

Lessons:

1. Possessive pronouns are used to replace a noun phrase (a possessive adjective and a noun.

This is her cup. [her cup = possessive adjective + noun]

This is hers. [hers = possessive pronoun]

2. The noun must be next to the possessive adjective, otherwise it is a possessive pronoun

His cup is dirty. [his (possessive adjective) is next to cup (noun)]

His is a dirty cup. [his = possessive pronoun]

3. With prepositions (to, for, with, etc.) use her.

This cup belongs to her.

I am with her.

He is working for her.

He will be by her side.

For her, I would do anything.

4. If there is no preposition, use hers.

It is hers.

Hers is the yellow cup over there.

5. With prepositions (to, for, with, etc.) use him.

This cup belongs to him.

I am with him.

She is working for him.

The dog will be by his side.

For him, I would do anything.

6. If there is no prepostion, use his.

It is his.

His is the orange cup on the table.

MASCULINE	FEMININE	NEUTER
His cup	Her cup	Its cup	With a noun
His	Hers	Its	Without a noun
For him	For her	For it	With a preposition
His	Hers	Its	Without a preposition

NOTE:

He’s = he is

She’s = she is

It’s = It is

Never write her’s. This is incorrect.

Here are other possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns:

Me, my, mine

My cup is black. The black cup belongs to me. It is mine.

Us, our, ours

Our cups are large. The large cups belong to us. They are ours.

You, your, yours (singular)

Your cup is broken. The broken cup belongs to you. It is yours.

You, your, yours (plural)

Your cups are broken. The broken cups belong to you. The broken cups belong to all of you. They are yours.

Them, their, theirs (plural)

Their cups are clean. The clean cups belong to them. The cups are theirs. They are theirs.

So that’s the grammar and how to use her and hers, his and him.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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