Уро́к 1
1.6 Grammar: Mine and Yours – Possessive Pronouns
Люби́мая Грамма́тика
Possessive Pronouns
We’ve been talking a lot about pronouns. So far we’ve learned personal pronouns, like я, ты, он, она and so on that answer the question Кто? (Who?). There are also possessive pronouns, and they answer the question ‘Whose’? In English we either use a possessive pronoun, like ‘my/mine’ or ‘your/yours’, or we use an apostrophe s (‘s) added to a noun to indicate ownership or possession, as in Ivan’s.
For example, in English one might say:
-Whose car is this?
- It’s mine.
- It’s my car.
- It’s Heather’s car.
And in Russian…
As you now know, all Russian nouns have gender. It just so happens that the words that describe them, like possessive pronouns, also have gender! They actually take on the gender of the noun they describe.
In English we say ‘Whose ____ is this?’ The word ‘whose’ is always just ‘whose’, regardless of what you’re talking about.
In Russian, however, the possessive pronoun has several possible forms, depending on qualities, like gender and number:
- Чей э́то _____? (masculine)
- Чья э́то _____? (feminine)
- Чьё э́то _____? (neuter)
- Чьи э́то _____? (plural)
And they all mean the same thing – Whose?
Why are there four different ways to say one thing? Gender! And also number (singular vs. plural)!
Watch the following video:
Pay attention to the words for ‘whose?’ and the words for ‘my’ and ‘your’. Just listen to how they’re used and then read more about it below.
[VIDEO] – typo at 6:12 – need comma after мой
Written examples with explanations:
Masculine
- Чей э́то компью́тер? ‘Whose computer is this?’
- Э́то мой компью́тер. ‘This is my computer.’
The masculine interrogative (чей) and possessive (мой) pronouns are used in the examples here because the thing in possession – компью́тер – is a masculine singular noun.
Feminine
- Чья э́то кни́га? ‘Whose book is this?’
- Э́то моя́ кни́га. ‘This is my book.’
The feminine interrogative pronoun (чья), meaning ‘whose’, and possessive pronoun (моя́), meaning ‘my’, are used in the examples here precisely because the noun in possession – кни́га – is a feminine singular noun.
Neuter
- Чьё э́то я́блоко? ‘Whose apple is this?’
- Э́то моё я́блоко? ‘Is this my apple?’
The neuter interrogative pronoun (чьё), meaning ‘whose’, and possessive pronoun (моё), meaning ‘my’, are used in the examples here precisely because я́блоко is a neuter singular noun.
Plural
- Чьи это ве́щи? ‘Whose things are these?’
- Э́то мои́ ве́щи. ‘These are my things.’
The plural interrogative pronoun (чьи), meaning ‘whose’, and possessive pronoun (мои́), meaning ‘my’, are used in the examples here precisely because ве́щи is a plural noun. (We will learn more about plural nouns very soon.)
Summary & Table:
We have just seen four different ways to say ‘whose’ and ‘my’, all depending on the gender and number (singular or plural) of the noun in question (the thing being possessed, so to speak).
Guess what? There are just as many ways to say ‘your’ and they look strikingly similar to the forms for ‘my’.
The table below lays out these two possessive pronouns meaning ‘my’ and ‘your’ in these four forms.
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- See today’s Словарь for recorded examples of these possessive pronouns.
| Gender / Number (of the noun described) | First person ‘MY’ = Belongs to ME! |
| masculine | мо́й (мой компью́тер) |
| neuter | моё (моё я́блоко) |
| feminine | моя́ (моя́ кни́га) |
| plural | мои́ (мои́ очки́) |
| Gender / Number (of the noun described) | Second person
‘YOUR’ = Belongs to YOU! |
| masculine | тво́й (твой компью́тер) |
| neuter | твоё (твоё я́блоко) |
| feminine | твоя́ (твоя́ кни́га) |
| plural | твои́ (твои́ очки́) |
Счастливая практика
Work through the following two Quizlet matching activities to match possessive pronouns with nouns.
[QUIZLETS]
