Possessive Adjectives
There are two types of possessive adjectives in Spanish: Short form (mi, tu, su, etc.) Long form (míos, tuyos, suyos) First, we will look at the short form in English and Spanish
Possessive Adjectives in English: My our Your (all of) your His Their Hers Their Your (all of) your
Possessive Adjectives in English: My dog our house Your dad (all of) your mom His brother Their cat Her sister Their mom Your son (all of) your cousin
Possessive Adjectives in Spanish work just a bit different… Like any other adjective, possessive adjectives must agree in gender and in number
Possessive Adjectives in Spanish My mi/mis our nuestro/nuestra nuestros/nuestras Your tu/tus His su/sus Their su/sus Hers su/sus Their su/sus Your su/sus (all of) your su/sus The short-form adjective ALWAYS goes in front of the object it describes
His sister is really pretty. However… Possessive adjectives need to agree with the THING the person has, NOT with who has it. Take, for example: His sister is really pretty.
His sister is really pretty. What is the thing he “has”?
His sister is really pretty. What is the thing he “has”? His sister
His sister is really pretty. What is the thing he “has”? His sister Is his sister singular or plural?
His sister is really pretty. What is the thing he “has”? His sister Is his sister singular or plural? Singular
His sister is really pretty. So, decide on the possessive adjective. Our two options are…
His sister is really pretty. So, decide on the possessive adjective. Our two options are… su or sus
His sister is really pretty. So, decide on the possessive adjective. Our two options are… su or sus And since we decided she is singular…
His sister is really pretty. So, decide on the possessive adjective. Our two options are… su or sus And since we decided she is singular… SU hermana es muy bonita.
Most of the possessive adjectives just have a singular and plural form. However, the “we” form also takes into consideration the gender of the items as well as the number that the person possesses.
Nuestro- ours nuestro hermano nuestros hermanos our brother our brothers nuestra hermana nuestras hermanas our sister our sisters
Mi/mis hermanos son guapos. ¡Vamos a practicar! Mi/mis hermanos son guapos.
Mi/mis hermanos son guapos.
Mi/mis mamá es simpática.
Mi/mis mamá es simpática.
Tu/tus abuelos son viejos.
Tu/tus abuelos son viejos.
tu/tus primo es antipático.
tu/tus primo es antipático.
nuestro/nuestra hermana es fea.
nuestro/nuestra hermana es fea.
nuestro/nuestra hijo es joven.
nuestro/nuestra hijo es joven.
nuestros/nuestras abuelos son simpáticos.
nuestros/nuestras abuelos son simpáticos.
nuestros/nuestras primas son bajas.
nuestros/nuestras primas son bajas.
vuestros/vuestras tíos son altos.
su/sus hija es rubia.
su/sus hija es rubia.
su/sus tías son altas.
su/sus tías son altas.
Más práctica… más díficil Her dad is mean. ________ papá es antipático.
Más práctica… más díficil Her dad is mean. Su papá es antipático.
Más práctica… más díficil My brother is tall. ______ hermano es alto.
Más práctica… más díficil My brother is tall. Mi hermano es alto.
Más práctica… más díficil Your mom is nice. _____mamá es simpática.
Más práctica… más díficil Your mom is nice. Tu mamá es simpática.
Más práctica… más díficil Our dogs are small. _________ perros son pequeños.
Más práctica… más díficil Our dogs are small. Nuestros perros son pequeños.
Más práctica… más díficil Our aunt is beautiful _________ tía es bonita.
Más práctica… más díficil Our aunt is beautiful. Nuestra tía es bonita.
Más práctica… más díficil Their dog is big. _____ perro es grande.
Más práctica… más díficil Their dog is big. Su perro es grande.
Más práctica… más díficil Your (plural) friends are nice. ______ amigos son simpáticos.
Más práctica… más díficil Your (plural) friends are nice. Sus amigos son simpáticos.
Más práctica… más díficil Your parents are strict. ______ padres son estríctos.
Más práctica… más díficil Your parents are strict. Sus padres son estríctos.
Now we will look at the long form of the possessive adjectives
Long-Form Possessive Adjectives masculine feminine mío mía míos mías masculine feminine nuestro nuestra nuestros nuestras tuyo tuya tuyos tuyas suyo suya suyos suyas
Long-form Possessive Adjectives – Long-form (stressed) adjective are less commonly used than the short-form (unstressed) forms masculine feminine mío/míos mía/mías tuyo/tuyos tuya/tuyas suyo/suyos suya/suyas nuestro/ nuestra/ nuestros nuestras my; (of) mine your; (of) yours (fam.) your; (of) your (form.); his; (of) his; her; (of) hers; its our; (of) ours your; (of) yours (form.); their; (of) theirs
Long-form Possessive Adjectives are occasionally used when the speaker wishes to emphasize the possessive adjective ¡Hijo mío! ¿A dónde fuiste? My son, where did you go? ¿Tu novio? No, ¡Ricardo es novio mío! Your boyfriend? No, Richard is MY boyfriend!
Long-form Possessive Adjectives their nouns are usually preceded by a definite article (el, la los, las). No nos interesan los problemas suyos. We are not interested in your problems. Quiero las fotos mías ahora mismo. I want my snapshots right away.
Long-form Possessive Adjectives always follow the nouns they modify and agree with them in number and gender mi amiga sus tareas tu chaqueta nuestras acciones la amiga mía las tareas suyas La chaqueta tuya las acciones nuestras ►
La práctica Mi chaqueta ______________________ Nuestras pantuflas _________________ Tu toalla _________________________ Su ropa __________________________ Mi cepillo _________________________ Tus zapatos _______________________ Su sudadero _______________________ Nuestras gafas _____________________ Mis botas __________________________ Tus calcetines ______________________
RECAP: Long (stressed) posse-ssives come AFTER the noun they modify or REPLACE it el coche mío = the car of mine / MY car el libro tuyo = the book of yours / YOUR book la suya = his/hers/ yours/theirs la nuestra= ours Short (unstressed) possessives come BEFORE the noun they modify mi coche= my car tu libro = your book su mochila = his/her/ your/their backpack nuestra casa= our house