Possessives: My, Your, Mine, Yours…

What you’ll learn

Choose a possessive word before a noun or use a possessive pronoun without repeating the noun.

ប្រើពាក្យបញ្ជាក់កម្មសិទ្ធិមុននាម ឬប្រើ possessive pronoun ដើម្បីជៀសវាងការនិយាយនាមដដែលម្តងទៀត។

Meaning and use

Possessive determiners come before nouns: my book, your bag, their house. Possessive pronouns stand without the noun: This book is mine. We use the second pattern when the noun is already clear. Possessive pronouns such as yours and theirs do not have apostrophes. Its shows possession; it’s is a contraction of it is or it has. For beginners, use its before a noun rather than looking for a common standalone possessive form.

My, your, her និងពាក្យដូចគ្នានេះ ត្រូវប្រើមុននាម។ Mine, yours និង theirs អាចឈរដោយខ្លួនឯងនៅពេលយើងដឹងថាសំដៅលើវត្ថុអ្វី។ កុំបន្ថែម apostrophe ទៅក្នុង yours ឬ theirs។ Its បង្ហាញកម្មសិទ្ធិ ប៉ុន្តែ it’s ជាទម្រង់កាត់របស់ it is ឬ it has។

Grammar patterns

Pattern	Example or form
Before a noun → without the noun	my book → mine
Before a noun → without the noun	your bag → yours
Before a noun → without the noun	his pen → his; her pen → hers
Before a noun → without the noun	our school → ours; their house → theirs
Possession with it	its name; its color

Examples

1. This is my book. It is mine.

   នេះជាសៀវភៅរបស់ខ្ញុំ។ វាជារបស់ខ្ញុំ។

2. Is this your bag?

   តើនេះជាកាបូបរបស់អ្នកមែនទេ?

3. That pen is hers.

   ប៊ិចនោះជារបស់នាង។

4. Their house is near our school.

   ផ្ទះរបស់ពួកគេនៅជិតសាលារបស់យើង។

Everyday conversation

Dara: Is this your book?

Maly: No. Mine is blue.

Dara: Is the red book hers?

Maly: Yes, it is.

Common mistakes

Instead of	Use	Why
This is mine book.	This is my book.	Use my before the noun book; mine stands without the noun.
This bag is your’s.	This bag is yours.	The possessive pronoun yours has no apostrophe.

Practice

Try these questions before opening the answers. Write or say each answer.

សាកល្បងឆ្លើយសំណួរទាំងនេះជាមុនសិន មុននឹងបើកមើលចម្លើយ។ អ្នកអាចសរសេរ ឬនិយាយចម្លើយរបស់អ្នក។

1. Complete: This is ___ bag. (my / mine)
2. Complete: This bag is ___ . (my / mine)
3. Choose the possessive form: The cat drinks its milk. / The cat drinks it’s milk.

Answers and explanations

Show answers / បង្ហាញចម្លើយ

1. my

   A noun follows, so use my.

2. mine

   There is no noun after the possessive word.

3. The cat drinks its milk.

   Its shows possession. It’s means it is or it has.

Quick recap

• Use my, your, and similar forms before a noun.
• Use mine, yours, and similar forms when the noun is not repeated.
• Possessive pronouns do not use apostrophes.