Fill in the blank with the correct option: In the sentence "This is his book." "his" is a/an

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 3:

In the sentence, "This is his book," the word "his" functions as a **possessive adjective** (also known as a determiner). Possessive adjectives are used to show ownership or relationship and always precede and modify a noun. In this specific construction, "his" is modifying the noun "book" by telling us *whose* book it is. The primary role of an adjective is to describe or specify a noun, and "his" is performing exactly this function—it limits or specifies the noun "book." These possessive determiners (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) are fundamentally adjectival because they perform the descriptive, modifying role immediately before a noun, differentiating them from possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs) which stand alone and replace the noun phrase entirely. Since "his" is directly attached to the noun "book" to define ownership, its classification must be adjectival.

The incorrect option is 1 (pronoun):
"His" can be used as a possessive pronoun (e.g., "The book is his."), but that is not the case here. Possessive pronouns replace a noun phrase and stand alone in a sentence, whereas in "This is his book," "his" is modifying the following noun, "book." Therefore, in this context, it is performing an adjective's role, not a pronoun's role.

The incorrect option is 2 (noun):
A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. "His" does not name anything; rather, it describes or specifies the ownership of the thing (the book). Since it modifies a noun instead of being the noun itself, it cannot be categorized as a noun.

The incorrect option is 4 (adverb):
An adverb is typically used to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, often indicating manner, time, place, or degree. "His" modifies the noun "book," not the verb ("is") or any other adjective/adverb. Since its function is strictly to modify a noun, classifying it as an adverb is fundamentally incorrect.