Spanish Possessive Adjectives  

Spanish Adjectives Possessive Adjectives
Overview

In English, the possessive adjectives are: my, your, his, her, our, and their. They indicate ownership. The Spanish possessive adjectives are listed in the table below.

Singular Plural
mi mis my
tu tus your (inf)
su sus his/her, your (form)
nuestro nuestros our (m)
nuestra nuestras our (f)
vuestro vuestros your (m) (inf)
vuestra vuestras your (f) (inf)
su sus their, your (form)

m - masculine
f - feminine
inf - informal, familiar
form - formal

A Possessive Adjective always accompanies a noun.

    mi blusita; mi faldita. - my little blouse; my little skirt
    nuestras flores - our flowers
    su pelota - his ball
    tu perro - your dog
    mis zapatos - my shoes
    nuestro carro - our car
    tus gatos - your cats
    sus libros - their books

The Spanish possessive adjective must agree with the number of items a person has.

    mi libro - my book
    mis libros - my books

The nosotros and vosotros forms change in gender as well;.

    nuestro libro - our book
    nuestra mesa - our desk

    vuestros refrescos - your soft drinks
    vuestras familias - your families

There are also the stressed possessive adjectives which go after the noun.
Examples:

los lapiceros míos - my pens
los boletos tuyos - your tickets
las almohadas nuestras - our pillows

Discussing Articles of Clothing and Parts of the Body

Instead of using the possessive adjective (“my”, “your”, etc.) with articles of clothing or parts of the body, Spanish typically uses the definite article and then makes the person involved the indirect object:

¿Te lavaste bien las manos?
Did you wash your hands well?

Me duelen los pies; voy a quitarme los zapatos.
My feet hurt; I'm going to take off my shoes.

spanish possessive adjectives

Quick Explanation

The possessive adjectives in English are: my, your, his, her, our, their. They show possession. The Spanish possessive adjectives are:

mi my (singular)
mis my (plural)
tu your (singular)
tus your (plural, familiar)
su his, her (singular)
sus his, her (plural)
su their, your (singular)
sus their, your (plural)
nuestro(a) our (singular)
nuestros(as) our (plural)
vuestro(a) your (singular)
vuestros(as) your (plural, familiar)

Long Explanation

A possessive adjective accompanies a noun.

mi embarque - my shipment
tu beneficio - your benefit
nuestro arreglo - our arrangement
su sinceridad - his, her, their or your sincerity
su padre - his, her, their or your father
sus padres - his, her, their or your parents
sus fondos - his, her, their or your money

The Spanish possessive adjective must agree with the number of items a person has.

mi libro - my book
mis libros - my two books

The nosotros and vosotros forms change in gender as well;.

nuestro libro - our book
nuestra mesa - our desk

nuestras familias - our families
nuestros refrescos - our soft drinks

Possessive adjectives can be divided into two groups: the non-stressed and the stressed forms.

The non-stressed possessives are only used in front of nouns. The forms are:

 
mi(s)      nuestro(s)
tu(s)      vuestro(s)
su(s)      su(s)

They must agree in number (and in gender for nuestro and vuestro) with the noun, not the person or pronoun to which the refer:

  • mis libros
  • nuestra madre

Remember that su(s) is ambiguous; su casa = your [usted] house, his house, her house, its house, your [ustedes] house, their [male and/or female] house.

  • A mi gato no le gustan tus perros.
    My cat doesn't like your dogs.
  • Sus caballos arruinaron nuestras flores.
    Your [formal] / his / her / their horses ruined our flowers.

The stressed possessives are:

mío       nuestro
tuyo      vuestro
suyo      suyo

They are used after nouns, or can be used with articles as pronouns:

  • Ésa es la casa mía.
    That is my house. [Or: That's the house that belongs to me.]
  • Esa casa mía.
    That house of mine.
  • Mi casa es más grande que la tuya.
    My house is larger than yours.

Note that the forms su and suyo are ambiguous and for clarity or emphasis sake may be replaced by the expressions de usted, de él, de ella, de ustedes, de ellas, and de ellos. For example:

  • La casa de él es roja, pero la de ella es blanca.
    His house is red, but hers is white.
  • (Su casa es roja pero la suya es blanca.)
    (Virtually meaningless.)


Use
Quizzes
Related Topics
 

  Vocabulary Flashcards
  Vocabulary Quiz
  Photo Quiz
  Spelling Quiz
  Sentence Flashcards
  Video
  Example Sentences
  Dialogue
  Image-Sentence Match
  Word Order Quiz
  Multiple Choice Quiz
  A or B Quiz
  Fill In

Icon Legend

Icons are color coded by Spanish level:

Green = Beginner
Blue = Intermediate
Orange = Advanced


Black icons are unrelated to Spanish level:

Help
Download
Information







Popular Phrase: querer conjugation present tense | Free Spanish Lessons | Conjugated Verb: predominar - to predominate [ click for full conjugation ]