Possessive pronouns are used in English to avoid repeating information that is already clear.
- This book is my book, not your book.
( Sounds repetitive )
- This book is mine, not yours.
( Mine and yours are possessive pronouns. )
In the sentence, mine replaces "my book" and "your book" is replaced by yours.
The possessive pronouns are:
I - Mine
- The car is mine.
You - Yours
- Those books are yours.
He - His
- That house is his.
She - Hers
- The ice cream is hers.
We - Ours
- These boxes are ours.
You-all - Yours
- The computer is yours
They - Theirs
- The bananas are theirs.
* Remember when using possessive pronouns, you don't use apostrophes.
Of Yours
It's very common to say "a friend" or "some friends" + of + possessive pronouns.
For example:
- I saw a friend of mine today.
- She's a friend of yours.
- One of your friends like me.
Yours faithfully / Your sincerely
Yours in English is also used with faithfully and sincerely at the end of writing a formal letter or an email.
For example:
- Yours faithfully
(if it's someone that you don't know.)
- Yours sincerely
(if it's someone that you know.)