What can I say instead of our?
We don’t traditionally think of
our as having synonyms, but there are several situations in which it can replace—or be replaced with—another term.
our own The phrase
our own is sometimes used as a more emphatic way of saying
our, as in
I can’t believe we were betrayed by our own family members. ours Sometimes you can reword what you’re saying to use
ours instead of
our. For example, instead of saying
This is our popcorn, you could say
This popcorn is ours. us Sometimes,
us is used where the word
our could also be used, such as in sentences like this:
Did you hear about us getting lost? Historically, it was considered more proper to use
our before
gerunds (e.g.,
getting in the preceding example), but using
us is now more common and often sounds more natural.
other possessives Instead of saying things like
This is my house and her house, we usually use the plural form
our, as in
This is our house. Sometimes, though, it makes more sense to separate who owns what by using separate possessive words. For example, instead of saying
These are our vehicles, you could say
This is my car and this is her truck.
Is our a pronoun or an adjective?
Our is the
possessive form of the plural
personal pronoun we. It’s often considered a
possessive pronoun, but it functions as a
possessive adjective (also called a
possessive determiner). That’s a lot of labels for such a common word, but they essentially mean this:
our shows possession by functioning as an adjective and modifying a noun (it never functions as a noun itself). The same thing can be said about
my (the possessive form of the pronoun
I). (The forms
mine and
ours stand alone as nouns, and never accompany another noun as modifiers.) In contrast, the word
his can be used as both a possessive pronoun (as in
That jacket is his) or a possessive adjective (as in
That is his jacket). Possessive words like
our commonly indicate possession or ownership, but they can also indicate origin or other qualities.
Our is used along with
first person pronouns (like
I,
me, we, and
us), which refer to the speaker or writer themselves. Other first person possessive forms include
my, mine, and
ours. In contrast,
second person pronouns (like
you and
yourself) are used to address the person being spoken to or reading. Possessive forms of these include
your and
yours. Third person pronouns (like
he, she,
they,
him,
her, and
them) refer to anyone other than the person doing the addressing or the ones being addressed. Third person possessive forms include
his,
her,
hers,
their, and
theirs.
