ours | TKG English Learner's Dictionary

ourspronoun

American /aʊrz/^? British /aʊəz/ also /ˈaʊ.ərz/ a fuller, two-syllable form, heard especially in careful or slow speech

very commondefining vocabulary

the thing or things belonging to or connected with the speaker and at least one other person
Ours is the independent possessive, used without a following noun: this house is ours. The possessive determiner, used directly before a noun, is the different word our (our house), a separate entry.
- That table by the window is ours.
- Is this car ours or theirs?
- The garden is ours to take care of.
- Which of these bags are ours?
Compare mine; theirs

Word family

we (the subject form)
us (the object form)
our (the possessive, directly before a noun)
ourselves

Usage

Ours never comes directly before a noun; that place belongs to our (our house, not ours house). Ours stands alone, in the place a noun phrase would fill: this house is ours, not this is ours house.

Common mistakes

This house is our. This house is ours.
Without a following noun, use the independent possessive ours, not our.

See also our (the possessive, directly before a noun: our house); mine

For translators

Grammar trap English marks the independent possessive with its own form (mine, hers, ours), separate from the possessive determiner (my, her, our) that goes before a noun; many languages use one possessive form throughout.

Pronunciation trap Ours is said with one syllable by some speakers and with two (OW-erz) by others; both are correct, and learners will hear either.