Are those girls friends of … ?

Analyze the question The sentence is "Are those girls friends of _?" The gap comes after "of", so we need the correct possessive form of "you".

Explain the concept This is a "double possessive" construction (e.g., a friend of mine, a friend of hers, friends of yours). After "of", English uses the absolute (independent) possessive pronouns:

• mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs

Key rule: possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe. So your's and yours' are always wrong. Also, your is a possessive adjective and must be followed by a noun (your friends), so it cannot stand alone at the end of this sentence.

Step-by-step solution

• A. your's ❌ has an illegal apostrophe.
• B. yours ✅ is the correct possessive pronoun, standing alone after "of".
• C. your ❌ is a possessive adjective and needs a noun after it (e.g., "friends of your sister").
• D. yours' ❌ has a misplaced apostrophe.

Correct sentence: "Are those girls friends of yours?"

Answer: B. yours

Exam tip Remember: "Its, hers, ours, yours, theirs: no apostrophes, no cares!" If a possessive pronoun (yours, hers, ours, theirs) ever appears with an apostrophe, eliminate that option immediately. Also, "friend of ___" almost always takes mine/yours/his/hers/ours/theirs.