Whose is this? It's mine/yours/hers

"Whose" asks about ownership. Use it when you want to know who owns an object or belongs to something.

• "Whose + noun?" — asks who owns that noun (Whose phone is this?).
• "Whose is this?" — asks about an item without repeating the noun (Whose is this? — It's mine.).
• Answers use possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs) or 'It's + possessive adjective + noun' (It's my phone).

How to form questions and short answers:

• Ask: "Whose + noun?" to name the item (Whose pen is this?).
• Ask: "Whose is this?" to avoid repeating the noun (pointing to an object).
• Answer: Use possessive pronouns to avoid repeating the noun: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs.
• Alternatively, answer with "It's + possessive adjective + noun" (It's my pen).

Remember: possessive adjective = before a noun; possessive pronoun = replaces the noun.

Frequent errors learners make when using "whose" and possessives:

• Confusing possessive adjectives (my/your) with possessive pronouns (mine/yours).
• Using an apostrophe with possessive pronouns (e.g., her's, mine's) — these are incorrect.
• Answering with a possessive adjective alone (e.g., saying "my" instead of "mine").
• Repeating the noun unnecessarily after a possessive pronoun (e.g., "It's mine pen" — incorrect).
• Using "who" instead of "whose" when asking about ownership.

Check whether you need a word before a noun (adjective) or a word that replaces the noun (pronoun).