Warm-up

Have a go — no notes, don't worry about mistakes.

You already know some of these words. Complete the sentence:

"Is this phone? I found it on the table." (asking about the phone in front of you)

SPEAK

Have a go out loud: point to three things near you right now and say who they belong to — "This is my..., that's her..., those are our...".

Listen in on this conversation

Flatmate A: Whose are these keys on the table?

Flatmate B: Not mine — I think they're Sam's. Check his coat pocket.

Look again at "Not mine" and "they're Sam's". Neither one has a noun after it — no "keys" repeated. Why do you think that's possible? Say your idea out loud before you check.

Check your idea CLICK
Because everyone already knows we're talking about the keys — saying "not my keys" again would be clumsy. English has a short way to say "belongs to me/you/Sam" without repeating the noun: mine, yours, Sam's. That's what today is about — sorting out whose is whose, without repeating yourself.
Today: possessive words like my/mine, your/yours, questions with whose, and 's for people's names — so you can sort out lost property, share a flat, and talk about family things without confusion.

Whose Is This? Asking who owns it

For lost property, mixed-up bags, and anything left lying around.

Spot the pattern

Three questions you might hear at a lost-and-found desk:

Before you check: what job does "whose" do in all three?

Check the pattern CLICK
Whose asks "who owns this?" — it can go straight before a noun ("whose umbrella") or stand alone at the front of a question ("whose are these gloves?"). Careful: whose sounds exactly like who's ("who is"), but they're completely different words. "Whose bag?" = who owns the bag. "Who's coming?" = who is coming.
Whose + noun + is/are + this/these/that/those?
Whose + is/are + this/these/that/those?

From "I don't know who" to "whose is it"

A scarf is on the sofa. Nobody knows whose.
→
"Whose scarf is this?"

You use "whose" the moment you don't know the owner and want to find out.

Your turn

Write the full question for each situation.

1. A pair of sunglasses is on the kitchen table. You don't know whose they are.

Ask your flatmates: "

2. There are two identical suitcases at the airport belt. You want to know who they belong to.

Ask the group: "

SPEAK

Look around the room you're in right now. Say two "whose...?" questions about things you can see — a cup, a bag, a phone, anything.

My Bag or Mine? Two ways to say it's yours

One word goes before a noun; the other stands completely alone.

Spot the pattern

Three everyday answers:

Look at where the noun "bag/jacket/umbrella" is in each pair. What's different?

Check the pattern CLICK
my / your / her always stand right before a noun (my bag, your jacket, her umbrella) — they never stand alone.
mine / yours / hers replace "the noun + belongs to me/you/her" — the noun disappears completely. You can't say "this is mine bag" — once you use "mine", the noun is gone.
my / your / his / her / our / their + noun
mine / yours / his / hers / ours / theirs (no noun after)

From "my keys" to "the keys are mine"

"Are these your keys?"
→
"Yes, they're mine."

Notice "his" and "hers" both come from "he/she" but "his" stays the same in both jobs, while "her" changes to "hers".

Your turn

1. Someone asks: "Is this coat yours?" It really does belong to you.

Answer without repeating "coat": "Yes, it's ."

2. Two bikes are outside. One belongs to your friends Leo and Mia together.

Tell someone: "That red bike is ."

3. You and your brother share a flat. A parcel arrives for both of you.

Tell the delivery driver: "Thanks, that's ."

SPEAK

Pick three objects near you and say each one twice — once with my/your/her + the noun, once with mine/yours/hers alone. "This is my cup. This cup is mine."

Anna's Keys: adding 's to a name

For talking about family, friends, and whose things they are.

Spot the pattern

Look closely at where the apostrophe goes in each one. What's the difference between "Anna's" and "parents'"?

Check the pattern CLICK
One person or singular noun → 's: Anna's jacket, James's dog. A plural noun already ending in s → just add the apostrophe: my parents' house, my friends' car. If the plural noun doesn't end in s (children, people), add 's as normal: the children's toys. Say it out loud: "Anna's" and "parents'" often sound almost the same — the spelling is what shows the difference.
singular name/noun + 's → Anna's, James's, the dog's
plural noun ending in s + ' → my parents', the neighbours'
plural noun NOT ending in s + 's → the children's

From "the house of my parents" to "my parents' house"

"the car of my sister" (unnatural)
→
"my sister's car"

For people, English almost always uses 's, not "of" — "of" sounds formal and odd for everyday things and people.

Your turn

1. Your friend Marco owns a laptop. It's on the table.

Tell someone: "Careful, that's laptop."

2. You're talking about the house that belongs to your grandparents (more than one grandparent).

Say: "We spent Sunday at my house."

SPEAK

Say three things using a family member's or friend's name + 's — "my brother's car", "Elena's flat" — anything true about your own life.

Your Turn to Talk

Time to use everything from today in one real situation — over to you.

The situation

Imagine you share a flat or a house with other people (real or invented). Someone has left a bag of things in the hallway — a jacket, a phone charger, some keys, a book.

Talk it through out loud for one minute. Try to include:

01:00

Now put it in writing

Write a short message (3–5 sentences) to a flatmate about the bag of things in the hallway. Use a whose...? question, a standalone possessive pronoun (mine/yours/hers/ours/theirs), and a name + 's. The checker will tell you which it finds.

Mix It Up

Real life doesn't tell you which form to use. Here everything is mixed — you decide.

Fix the mistakes

Each sentence has one grammar mistake. Rewrite the whole sentence correctly.

1. "This is mine book, I left it here yesterday."

2. "Excuse me, the umbrella by the door — is it your?"

3. "The keys are my, so don't worry about them."

4. "We're meeting at my parent's house on Saturday." (both of my parents live there)

Which form fits?

5. You spot a scarf on the train seat and don't know who left it. You say:

6. A friend asks if a jacket on the sofa belongs to you. It doesn't — it belongs to your friend Tom.

7. Choose the correct sentence about a car that belongs to your neighbours (a couple).

SPEAK

One-minute challenge: describe a mixed-up cupboard or bag at home. Say what's yours, what's your flatmate's or a family member's, and ask one whose...? question about something you're not sure about. Use the timer above if you like the pressure.

What Do You Remember?

First, from earlier lessons

1. A form you knew before today — complete it: " is your name?" (asking someone their name)

2. Say it out loud: what's the difference between "who's" and "whose"? Give one example sentence with each.

Compare with a possible answer CLICK
One possible answer: "who's" is short for "who is" or "who has" ("Who's calling?"). "whose" asks who owns something ("Whose phone is this?"). Same sound, different job.

Now, today's grammar — fresh sentences, no looking back

3. A wallet is on the bus seat. Nobody knows who it belongs to.

Ask out loud: "

4. Two towels are folded on the shelf. One is definitely yours.

Point to it and say, without repeating "towel": "That one's ."

5. Your friend Priya left her charger at your place.

Text her: "You left charger here."

Think back

Which practice helped you most today — fixing the mistakes, choosing the right form, or the speaking tasks? Say why you think that one worked for you.

Can you now...?

At the start we said: possessive words so you can sort out lost property, share a flat, and talk about family things. Tick what's true:

Anything you didn't tick — go back to that tab and try the exercises once more. They'll still check your answers.

Next lesson: describing how and how often →