Learn English – Is “his” a pronoun or a determiner here

determinerspronouns

We know his can be used as pronoun and as determiner. But i am confused about how to decide whether it used as determiner or pronoun

for example

he said that john was his father

Is "his" a pronoun or a determiner here?

Best Answer

Pronouns take the place of a noun.

So if you see his immediately followed by a noun, it's very likely a determiner, because two nouns in a row without a conjunction doesn't work.

Also if you can replace his with an article, such as a/an or the, and the sentence still makes sense, it's a determiner.

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