Learn English - LESSON 11 - How to express possession using - 'mine' 'yours' 'ours' with Mr Duncan

When we want to show that something is owned by one person

or many people, or who it belongs to,

then it is important to know how to express ownership and possession using English.

First of all the word ‘possess’ means ‘own’ or have ‘ownership’.

One person owns an item.

That particular thing belongs to them, they are the owner.

We often use the word ‘possess’ when we need to firmly state that something is owned or occupied.

To belong to something or someone means a certain type of connection has been made,

quite often in the form of ownership.

Put simply, one person can own an object, such as a car, or a house.

The car belongs to that person.

The house is owned by someone.

The thing belongs to someone.

Someone owns that thing.

The word ‘ownership’ is the noun that names the state of owning something.

You might have ownership of a business.

The business belongs to you.

It is yours. The things that you own belongs to you.

We can describe them as your possessions.

All the things that you have in your house can be described as your possessions.

They belong to you. You own them.

They are yours.

Generally speaking, the things that belong to you are yours.

They are your things, which means you have ownership.

One thing or many things owned by you will be described as ‘yours’.

If something belongs to more than one person, we will still say ‘yours’.

For example, A married couple that own a house.

You might state to them that the house is yours.

Of course we can also say ‘both of you’.

The house is yours, it belongs to both of you.

Next we will look at how to show the state of owning something

from the point of view of the person who is the owner.

The things that belong to me are mine.

They are my things, they belong to me,

They are mine.

This jacket belongs to me, it is mine.

I own this jacket.

It is one of my possessions.

The things that belong to you are yours,

and the things that belong to me are mine.

If more than one person wants to express that something is owned by them,

then they will say… ‘It is ours.’

‘That thing is ours’

One person - ‘mine’. More than one person - ‘ours’.

A thing belonging to someone is theirs.

The person owns it. It is theirs.

Normally a thing that is owned by someone that has been bought or paid for.

That person has ownership of that thing.

Of course it is possible to give something that you own to someone else.

You might give something away freely,

or you might sell something that belongs to you.

You might also give something

to another person for a short period of time.

You lend something to someone.

To ‘lend’ something means to give for a short amount of time,

normally this time will be a certain period that has been agreed on.

A bank might lend money to someone for a certain amount of time.

A neighbour might borrow something from you,

with the understanding that it will be given back later.

The opposite of ‘lend’ is ‘borrow’.

In this situation you are the person taking something for a short time.

You might borrow some money from the bank.

The bank will lend the money to you.

You might borrow something from your neighbour.

It is common for those learning English to confuse lend and borrow.

To <i>lend</i>, is to give for a short period of time. To <i>borrow</i>, is to take for a short period of time.

The person lending the item is the owner,

and the person borrowing the item is not the owner.

They are borrowing it.

Finally, it is possible for two or more people to share something.

To divide something between more than one person is ‘share’.

This is the verb form of the word. Your share something.

Quite often each part of what is shared will be equal,

however sometimes this is not the case.

It is possible for the ownership of something to be shared.

This often happens when a group of people have paid for something between them.

Each person has put in, or given a small amount of money as payment for a share.

That group will own the thing equally.

Each person has a share of it.

You might also split something up and then give one part to each person.

Each part can be described as a ‘portion’.

You can share a cake with others, or you might share a business with a group of people,

who will each pay for a share of that company.

Each part can be described as a ‘share’.

This is the noun form of the word.

So to review this lesson... Mine belongs to me.

‘Yours’ belongs to you. ‘Ours’ belongs to more than one person.

It belongs to us.

‘Yours’ belongs to a group of people.

It belongs to them.

‘Share’ means to divide something with others.

‘Lend’ means to give for a short time. (or a certain amount of time)

‘Borrow’ means to take for a short time. (Or a certain amount of time)

You - YOURS

Me - MINE

Us - OURS

Them - THEIRS

Own - Have - - Possess.

An item owned is a possession.