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Possessive Adjectives
A REVIEW: Possessive adjectives tell you who owns something or describe a relationship
between people or things. In Spanish, possessive adjectives agree in number and/or
gender with the nouns they describe. These were introduced in Spanish I.
Mi(s)
Mi casa / mis amigos
Tu(s)
Tu casa / tus amigos
Nuestro (a, os, as)
Nuestra casa / nuestros amigos
Vuestro (a, os, as)
Vuestra casa / vuestros amigos
Su(s)
Su casa / sus amigos
Su(s)
Su casa / sus amigos
What if you don’t want to say, “It’s my book, not your book” but rather, “It’s mine, not
yours”? This is where a possessive pronoun comes into play. See below:
Possessive pronouns!
Pronouns replace the noun. In order to use the possessive
adjectives as nouns, simply add the appropriate article:
mine
yours (tú)
Ours
el mío, la mía, los míos, las mías
El tuyo, la tuya, los tuyos, las tuyas
El nuestro, la nuestra, los nuestros, las nuestras
yours
(vosostros) El vuestro, la vuestra, los vuestros, las vuestras
yours, his,
hers, its,
theirs
El suyo, la suya, las suyas, los suyos
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Ejemplos:
Mi casa es más vieja que la tuya.
My house is older than yours.
-¿Cuál es mi bolso?
-Éste es suyo.
Which is my bag?
This one is yours.
-Mis abuelos están en Florida.
-¿Y los vuestros?
-Los nuestros están en California.
My grandparents are in Florida.
And yours?
Ours are in California.
**articles are omitted after ser.
Wherever there may be ambiguity regarding the reference of suyo, you can clarify the
context by specifying with de él, de ella, de usted, de ellos, de ellas, de ustedes.
-¿Cuál es mi café?
-Éste es el de usted, este otro es el de él, ése es el
de ella, y aquél es el de ustedes.
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How do we say “of mine”? Use the above as adjectives instead of pronouns (which
means they’ll come AFTER the noun). When used this way there is more of an
endearing quality. They are also more expressive. You also use it, for example, when
talking of a special friend.
A friend of mine
un amigo mío
They are the same as the pronouns, just without the article:
Mío, mía, mías, míos
Nuestro (a, os, as)
tuyo, tuya, tuyos, tuyas
Vuestro (a, os, as)
Suyo, suya, suyas, suyos
Suyo, suya, suyas, suyos