hers

IPA/hɜːz/
KK[hɚz]IPA/hɜːrz/

hers — pronoun

1. used instead of 'her + noun' to show that something is owned by or related to a

1.pronounA2
Definition

used instead of 'her + noun' to show that something is owned by or related to a female person or animal you have already talked about; this form avoids repeating the noun.

Example

Leila says this red bag is hers, not mine.

possessive pronoun pattern: [noun] is hers

The black coffee on the table is mine, but the green tea is hers.

Common collocations
  • a friend of hers
  • is hers
  • was hers
  • hers is
  • hers are
Antonyms
  • his

    used for a male owner instead of a female one

Grammar Patterns

hers as possessive pronoun replacing determiner + noun

Usage Note

Unlike 'her', 'hers' never takes a following noun. It stands alone as a complete noun phrase and can be the subject, object, or complement of a sentence.

Common Mistakes

This book is her.
This book is hers.
'her' needs a noun after it (e.g. 'her book'); 'hers' replaces the whole phrase.
I met a friend of her.
I met a friend of hers.
After the preposition 'of', use the possessive pronoun 'hers', not the determiner 'her'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: pronoun/1

While both 'her' and 'hers' show female ownership, 'her' is a determiner that must be followed by a noun ('her coat', 'her idea'), whereas 'hers' is a pronoun that replaces the entire 'her + noun' phrase ('That coat is hers'). 'Her own' adds emphasis, stressing that the item belongs specifically to the female person and not to someone else. Use 'her own' when the main point is to contrast ownership: 'She brought her own chair' makes it clear she did not borrow one. In everyday speech, 'hers' is more common than 'her own' for simple possession. Examples: 'This is her book' (determiner + noun), 'This book is hers' (pronoun, natural), 'She brought her own book' (emphatic, contrasting with borrowing).

her ↗her ownhers ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • a [noun] of hers
  • [noun] is hers
  • [noun] was hers
  • hers is
  • hers are

Prepositions

  • of (a friend of hers)

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Hers traces back to Old English 'hire' (the genitive form of 'hēo', meaning 'she'). Over the Middle English period it developed into 'hir(e)s', and by Early Modern English the modern form 'hers' was established. Unlike the determiner 'her', the -s suffix marks it as an independent possessive pronoun, similar to 'ours', 'yours', and 'theirs'.