In many languages, the possessive word agrees with the thing that someone owns. In English, it depends only on the owner.
1. His → the owner is a man or a boy
- Tom loves his mother.
- My brother sold his car.
2. Her → the owner is a woman or a girl
- Anna loves her father.
- My sister sold her bike.
3. The thing does not matter
Look at the owner, never at the thing owned. The word stays the same whether the thing is male, female, singular or plural.
- Maria lives with her husband. (not "his husband")
- Paul lives with his wife. (not "her wife")
- She lost her keys. He called his parents.
With own, the owner is always the subject: She has her own room. He cooks his own meals.
4. Its and their
- its → the owner is a thing: The tree lost its leaves.
- their → there are several owners: The children are with their mother.
"Its" has no apostrophe. "It's" means "it is".
5. Common mistakes
- ❌ Maria is visiting his grandmother.
- ✔️ Maria is visiting her grandmother.
- ❌ My father washes her car every Sunday.
- ✔️ My father washes his car every Sunday.
- ❌ The students forgot his books.
- ✔️ The students forgot their books.
