Expressing Possession

In English, we express possession by adding ‘s to the noun that refers to the possessor Mr. Smith’s hat Mrs. Watson’s chihuahua Ernie’s ducky Linus’s blanket

In Spanish we use the preposition “de” to refer to the possessor El sombrero de Sr. Smith La chihuahua de Sra. Watson El patito de Ernie La manta de Linus

Isn’t there a shorter way? Possessive adjectives! Possessive adjectives tell you who owns something. Possessive adjectives also describe relationships between people or things. English possessive adjectives: my, your, his, her, our, their, its

Possessive Adjectives en español Must agree in GENDER and NUMBER with the nouns they describe Gender = masculine/feminine Number = singular/plural

Singular Possessive Adjectives (describing a single possession) Mi = My Tu = Your (familiar) Su = His, Her, Its or Your (formal) Nuestro(a) = Our Vuestro(a) = Your (familiar) Su = Their Your (formal)

Plural Possessive Adjectives (Describing more than one possession) Mis = My Tus = Your (familiar) Sus = His, Her, Its Your (formal) Nuestros(as) = Our Vuestros(as) = Your (familiar) Sus = Their Your (formal)

Nuestro(a) and Vuestro(a) These possessive adjectives must not only agree in number, but in GENDER with the nouns they describe. Ex: nuestro abuelo nuestra abuela nuestros abuelos nuestras abuelas

If you need to emphasize… Substitute the adjective with de + pronoun (or the person’s name). This also helps to clarify the meaning of su and sus. Es su abuelo. Es el abuelo de ella. Es el abuelo de Margarita.

Vamos a practiar… Tell to whom the following belong. El perro (de nosotras) Nuestro perro

Tell to whom the following belong. La bolsa (de ella) Su bolsa Vamos a practiar… Tell to whom the following belong. La bolsa (de ella) Su bolsa

Vamos a practiar… Tell to whom the following belong. El apartamento (de ellos) Su apartamento

Vamos a practiar… Tell to whom the following belong. Las camisetas (de nosotros) Nuestras camisetas

Tell to whom the following belong. La casa (de ustedes) Su casa Vamos a practiar… Tell to whom the following belong. La casa (de ustedes) Su casa

Tell to whom the following belong. Los hijos (de él) Sus hijos Vamos a practiar… Tell to whom the following belong. Los hijos (de él) Sus hijos