Mine vs. Mine's

'My' is the possessive adjective and 'mine' is the possessive pronoun, but what grammatical category does "mine's" fall under? Let's find out!

"Mine" vs. "Mine's" in the English Grammar

Is "Mine's" Correct?

If 'mine' is a possessive pronoun, you should know that possessive pronouns do not use apostrophes to form possessives.

Why This Mistake?

You might think since almost all the nouns in English, can be possessive with apostrophes, pronouns can too. But they cannot.

When Can 'Mine' Take 's?

However, if 's' is not for expressing possessiveness or belonging, but to show the abbreviated form of 'is' or 'has', then you can safely use 'mine's' without the fear of making a mistake.

Your hat is red. Mine's (→ Mine is) blue.

Besides that, if 'mine' is a noun, it's obvious that it can take apostrophe 's' to show possession like every other noun in the English language.

the mine's depth

A Not So Common Mistake

You might hear a native speaker using "mine's" as the possessive of a possessive! But you should know that grammatically it is wrong.

I have the same jacket. Mine's beige.

This is the correct use of possessive pronoun.

I have the same jacket. Mine's buttons are metal.

This sentence is not a standard English sentence.

Parrots are so friendly. Mine's a bit mean though!

In the first example, "mine" is the possessive form of 'I' and it replaces the possessive phrase 'my parrot'.

What's you parrot's name? Mine's name is Jake. → (My parrot's name is Jake.)

In the second example, "mine's" is the possessive form of the possessive! It replaces the phrase 'my parrot's name'.

Comments

Loading recaptcha
  • linkedin
  • linkedin
  • facebook
  • facebook
  • email

You might also like

One and Ones

'One' and 'ones' are impersonal pronouns in English. They're used in place of previously mentioned nouns to avoid repetition.

One vs. You

If we want to talk about people in general, can we say, 'You must be responsible toward the environment' or 'one must be responsible toward the environment?'

Mine vs. My Own

'This is a duty of mine'. 'This is a duty of my own.' Which one of these sentences do you think is correct? Can we use both of them? What is the difference?

His vs. He's

"His" and "He's" have somewhat similar pronunciations, but different meanings or spelling. So what is their difference?

His or Her vs. Their

In the modern day and age, writers are looking for ways to write generic sentences without using gender-based pronouns. One of the ways is to use 'their'.

Its vs. It's

What is the difference between "its" and "it's"? How can we use each of them? Are they the same thing? Here, we will discuss the differences between them.
LanGeek
Download LanGeek app