Just like in English, the Dutch use independent possessives. An independent possessive does not precede a noun, as in "It is my pencil", but stands alone: "It is mine".
The independent possessive is only used when the possessor is a person.
| English
| Dutch
|
| mine
| de/het mijne
|
| yours
| de/het jouwe
|
| yours [formal]
| de/het uwe
|
| its
| -
|
| his
| de/het zijne
|
| hers
| de/het hare
|
| ours
| de/het onze
|
| yours
| -
|
| theirs
| de/het hunne
|
For 'its' and plural 'yours', the Dutch do not have independent possessive pronouns.
In Dutch, the independent possessive pronoun requires an article. This can be de or het, depending on the noun it refers to.
| de jas
| mijn jas
| de mijne
|
| het boek
| mijn boek
| het mijne
|
Ours: onze
We say 'het onze' and 'de onze'. In this respect, it behaves the same as an independent adjective.
No plural 'yours'
The Dutch do not have an independent form for plural 'yours'. Instead, you can use the alternative independent possessive.
Questions? 
