His
/hɪz/
possessive pronounpossessive adjectiveA1
Definition
"His" is a small word that shows possession or belonging. It is used when we talk about something that belongs to a man, boy, or male animal. For example, "his book" means the book belongs to him.
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See It in Action
Possessive adjective: Shows that something belongs to a male person or animal.
- •This is his hat.
- •His car is very fast.
- •I like his idea.
Possessive pronoun: Replaces a noun phrase to show possession.
- •The book is his.
- •That jacket is his.
- •The choice was his.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "his" like "my" or "your," but for a male person.
- ✓Picture a boy holding a toy and saying, "This is his toy," meaning the toy belongs to him.
- ✓It feels like when you see someone’s name on their things—you know those things are theirs.
- ✓Sounds like "hizz" → imagine a little buzzing sound around a boy’s things to show they belong to him.
- ✓In stories, "his" helps us know who owns or has something, like "his sword" or "his dog."
- ✓NOT like "her" (belongs to a female), "his" is used for males.
- ✓NOT like "their" (belongs to more than one person), "his" is for one male person.
- ✓"His" works like a label on things to show ownership.
Try Other Words
- •Her: belonging to a female person or animal (Use when referring to a woman or girl)
- •Their: belonging to more than one person or a person of unknown gender (Use when talking about multiple people or when gender is not known)
- •My: belonging to the speaker (Use when talking about yourself)
Unboxing
- •Word parts: (no prefix or suffix, a simple possessive pronoun)
- •Etymology: Old English "his," from Proto-Germanic "*his," meaning belonging to him
- •Historical development: Used for many centuries in English to show possession for males
- •Modern usage: Very common in everyday speech and writing to show something belongs to a male person or animal
- •Key insight: One of the first possessive words learned by English learners
Reflect & Connect
•How does using "his" help us understand who owns or has something in a sentence?
•Can you think of sentences where using "his" changes the meaning compared to "her" or "their"?
Fill in the blanks
1.This is ___ book, so please give it back to him.
2.The dog wagged ___ tail happily when it saw its owner.
3.I saw ___ name written on the notebook, so I knew whose it was.
4.Unlike "her," ___ shows that the owner is male.
5.When we say "The choice was his," we mean he had the ___ to decide.
6.___ car is parked outside, the red one with the big wheels.
7.If you want to talk about something belonging to a girl, you use "her," but for a boy, you use ___.