On the way home, Mom smiles and says, "Good job, Tom."
[Situation]
This is one sentence in a passage. Tom is the writer of this passage. Tom and his mother is in a car. Mom is driving and saying to his son, Tom.]
1. On the way home, Mom smiles and says, "Good job, Tom."
2. On my way home, Mom smiles and says, "Good job, Tom."
3. On her way home, Mom smiles and says, "Good job, Tom."
4. On our way home, Mom smiles and says, "Good job, Tom."
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What does #1 mean? Which one is similar to #1?
#1 means that, as Mom was driving home with her son Tom in the car, she made that statement.
The only other sentence that comes close is #3. Nothing in the situation or the sentence indicates that the writer/speaker was also in the car.
In this case, sentence #1 means that Tom's mother is talking to him and congratulating him for doing a good job. It implies that Tom has accomplished something worth praising.
The sentence that is similar to #1 is #4: "On our way home, Mom smiles and says, 'Good job, Tom.'" In this sentence, instead of using "my" or "her," it uses "our," indicating that both Tom and his mother are on their way home and she is complimenting Tom.