English grammar can be very complicated and hard to understand. In fact, English is one of the harder languages to learn due to its many exceptions in grammar and spelling. Throw in the terms used to describe English grammar, and you have just added to its complexity. One such confusing grammatical rule is the comparison of a possessive pronoun and a possessive adjective. What is the difference and how can you keep them straight?
First, you must understand what a pronoun is and what an adjective is. A pronoun is a term used to replace a noun. For example, in the sentence 'Gloria ate an apple.' Gloria can be replaced with the pronoun 'she' to make the sentence 'she ate an apple.' This is often done when talking about a certain person multiple times so that you don't need to keep using the name over and over. In a paragraph, you may use her name in the first sentence and 'she' or 'her' in consecutive sentences.
An adjective is used to modify or describe a noun. For example, in the sentence 'Gloria ate a green apple.' green is the adjective because it describes the apple. You can use a pronoun in the same sentence as an adjective by saying 'She ate a green apple.' In this sentence, she is only a pronoun and not an adjective pronoun.
Possessive means that something is owned by it. When you possess something, you have it. For example, you may possess a car or possess a piece of paper in your hand. The same goes in sentence usage. 'Gloria's daughter ate an apple.' Gloria is possessive because she has a daughter. 'Gloria's' is a possessive noun in this sentence.
Pronouns and adjectives can be possessive. In the above example, 'Gloria's daughter ate an apple.' you can replace 'Gloria's' with a possessive adjective. The sentence would become 'Her daughter ate an apple.' Her is an adjective because it describes daughter. At the same time, it is possessive.
How would you use that as a possessive pronoun? You could say 'The apple is hers.' The apple belongs to her but it is not an adjective describing the apple. Making it possessive is usually not what makes it confusing. It's deciding whether it's an adjective or a pronoun that is tricky. If the possessive word describes or modifies the word, it is an adjective. If it only replaces a noun, it is a pronoun. The former is called an adjective pronoun. When made possessive, it becomes a possessive adjective pronoun, or a possessive pronoun.
The good news about tough English grammar situations such as these is that understanding all the terminology is not necessary to correctly use the words. You don't have to be a walking grammar textbook to be able to speak and write exceptional English. Getting a grasp of the rules and being able to correctly put them into correct sentences is what's most important.
