What the song is about

The song walks through everyday things (a book, a garden, a dog, a car, a house, a street) and asks one question: Whose is it? Each answer teaches a possessive word. At the end, the answer to "Is it mine? Is it yours?" is a friendly "It's ours."

Two kinds of possessive words

1. Before a noun (possessive adjectives): my, your, his, her, our, their
  • This is my book.
  • That is her car.
  • This is our world.
The line "Our, your, their – we use them before" means these words always come before a noun.

2. Alone, without a noun (possessive pronouns): mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs

  • It's my bag, it is mine.
  • The house is ours.
  • The idea is theirs.
The line "Ours and theirs – at the end of the line" means these words can stand alone, often at the end of a sentence.

Note: his is the same in both groups (his chair / it is his). Possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe: write yours, hers, ours, theirs, not your's or their's. The song does not cover its (The dog wags its tail).

Useful words and expressions

  • Whose is the house? – the question word for owners.
  • It belongs to him / her / them / us – another way to show who owns something. After to, use him, her, them, us.
  • It is yours to shine / hers to play – yours / hers + to + verb means it is your turn or your right to do something.
  • without a fuss – easily, without complaining.
  • plant the seed, shining in the sun, big and wide – simple, useful phrases.

Don't say "the house of me"

The bridge points out a common learner mistake. In English we don't use of + a person pronoun to show ownership:
  • ✗ the house of me → ✓ my house
  • ✗ the book of you → ✓ your book / It's yours.

Lines shaped by the rhyme

  • "The rules of the heart are what I prefer" is there mainly to rhyme with her; it is not a typical thing to say and has nothing to do with the grammar.
  • "Mine, yours, his, and hers / The music of the universe" is a poetic line for the sound, not an everyday expression.
  • "we use them before" is shortened for the rhythm; in normal speech say we use them before a noun.