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© 2008 BITTERHANK
Notes
Examples
Practice
Things to Keep in Mind
Possessive Adjectives
Possessive adjectives in English are words such as
“my”, “your”, or “their”. In Spanish these words come
before the noun too. You’ve seen “mi amigo” and
“tus padres” before. These mean “my” and “your”,
but why are they spelled this way? What are the
other possessive adjectives?
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Possessive Adjectives
Here are all the possessive adjectives. Why are there so
many spellings? Why is the word “su” used so much?
my = mi / mis
your = tu / tus
his = su / sus
her = su / sus
its = su / sus
our = nuestro, a / nuestros, as
your (plural) = vuestro, a / vuestros, as
your (plural) = su / sus
their = su / sus
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Agreement
As with other adjectives, possessive adjectives have to agree. Only the
adjectives that end with “o” (nuestro / vuestro) have to agree for gender.
mi libro = my book
singular
mis libros = my books
plural
nuestro padre = our dad
masculine singular
nuestra madre = our mom
feminine singular
nuestros hermanos = our siblings
masculine plural
nuestras tías = our aunts
feminine plural
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Agreement
Be careful with agreement! The adjective agrees with what is “owned” or
“possessed” NOT with who owns it. Every example here means “our”, but the
ending changes depending on what is owned. Some students think that
“nuestras” is something only girls would say, but that’s not true. It just
depends on what comes after “our”.
nuestro abuelo = our grandpa
nuestra prima = our (girl) cousin
nuestros abuelos = our grandparents
nuestras hijas = our daughters
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¿¡SU!?
This one little word causes so much confusion for Spanish students! Don’t
worry, my older students occasionally make mistakes with this word.
his
her
su / sus =
your (Ud.)
its
your (Uds.)
their
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¿¡SU!?
This word agrees for what is owned, NOT who owns it, so the word “sus” not only
means “their”, but it could mean so many other things. You’ll know by context. In
English you’d never say “his dad” unless you had already mentioned who you were
talking about. The same applies in Spanish.
su regla = his, her, its, your, their ruler
sus reglas = his, her, its, your, their rulers
su & sus do not agree for gender
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Plural Your?!?
This is awful grammar, but just about all of you say it... your guys’
Say this sentence out loud. “I walked past your house yesterday and your guys’
dog chased me.” I guess it’s not as bad as “yunz’s dog”!
In English the word “your” can be singular or plural. If I’m talking to a group of
people and say, “your parents” the group knows that I am talking about all of their
parents. In English we use context. In Spanish there are several words for “your”.
tu / tus = your (singular & informal, tú)
su / sus = your (singular & formal, Ud.)
vuestro,a / vuestros, as = your (plural in Spain, vosotros)
su / sus = your (plural in Latin America, Uds.)
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Plural Your?!?
These examples are essentially the “your guy’s” of Spanish. If you are talking to
more than one person, and you want to say “your”, use these examples.
Remember, the word should only end in “s” if more than one thing is owned.
vuestro primo = your (boy) cousin
vuestra prima = your (girl) cousin
vuestros libros = your books
vuestras carpetas = your folders
su tío = your uncle
sus papeles = your papers
*Remember that su / sus don’t agree for gender.
*Also remember that su / sus can mean many other things.
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One Last Note
Think of the possessive adjectives like the way you think of verb endings.
Singular Plural
singular
plural
my
our
mi / mis
nuestro,a / nuestros, as
your
your
tu / tusvuestro,a / vuestros, as
your
your
su / sus
his
their
her
its
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su / sus
Examples
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A mi padre le gusta ir de pesca.
My dad likes to fish.
Mis amigos van también.
My friends are going too.
Tu primo es muy perezoso.
Your cousin is very lazy.
¿Quiénes son tus padres?
Who are your parents?
¿Necesita Ud. su regla?
Do you need your ruler? (formal)
¿Cuándo es su cumpleaños?
When is your birthday? (formal)
El va con su familia.
He’s going with his family.
El no quiere sus guisantes.
He doesn’t want his peas.
A ella le gusta su escuela.
She likes her school.
Ella tiene sus libros.
She has her books.
Nuestro abuelo es alto.
Our grandfather is tall.
Nuestra familia es grande.
Our family is big.
Nuestras hermanas son gemelas.
Our sisters are twins
Nuestros amigos no van.
Our friends aren’t going.
Examples
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Vuestro amigo es simpático.
Your friend is nice.
¿A vuestra madre le gusta cocinar?
Does your mom like to cook
¿Tenéis vuestros libros?
Do you guys have your books?
¿Vais con vuestras familias?
Are you all going with your families?
Uds. necesitan hacer su tarea.
You guys need to do your homework.
¿Van Uds. con sus padres?
Are you guys going with your parents?
Ellos juegan con su perro.
They play with their dog.
A ellos les gustan sus videojuegos.
They like their videogames.
Practice
Click below to go to Quia.
There are several activities for possessive adjectives. Some may use
words that you don’t know, but that’s okay. Just use context to figure out
what is being said, and make the words agree.
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Things to Keep in Mind
•Possessive adjectives come before the noun.
•Possessive adjectives agree for number, and sometimes
number and gender (nuestro / vuestro).
•The word “su” means many things, and can be confusing.
•There are several ways to say “your” in Spanish. Be sure
you have the right one!
•Look through the notes and examples several times,
and do the practice activities.
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