Possessive Adjectives
Possessive adjectives tell the owner of a thing or item. The Spanish possessive adjectives have both singular and plural forms. The 1st and 2nd person plural (we, you) possessive adjectives also have separate feminine and masculine forms.
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| my | mi | mis |
| your | tu | tus |
| his/her/their, your (formal, singular) | su | sus |
| our | nuestro, nuestra | nuestros, nuestras |
| your | vuestro, vuestra | vuestros, vuestras |
| their, your (formal, plural) | su | sus |
Use the singular form of a possessive before a singular noun:
Esta no es tu guitarra.
This is not your guitar.
Use the plural form of a possessive before a plural noun:
Ana y Carlos son sus amigos de la infancia.
Ana and Carlos are his childhood friends.
With the 1st and 2nd person plural possessive adjectives you also have to take the gender of the noun into account. Use the masculine form with masculine nouns and the feminine form with feminine nouns.
Note that the gender and number of the possessive adjective are determined by the thing that someone owns, not the owner:
Nuestro desayuno incluye tostadas, cruasanes, café y churros.
Our breakfast includes toast, croissants, coffee and churros.
Aquí tenéis vuestra reserva.
Here is your reservation.
Possessive Pronouns
In addition to possessive adjectives, Spanish language has possessive pronouns that conjugate according to gender and number. These are also known as stressed or long-form possessive adjectives. They are used when the possessive is not followed by a noun (compare e.g. English my -> mine).
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| mine | mío, mía | míos, mías |
| yours | tuyo, tuya | tuyos, tuyas |
| his/hers/theirs, yours (formal, singular) | suyo, suya | suyos, suyas |
| ours | nuestro, nuestra | nuestros, nuestras |
| yours | vuestro, vuestra | vuestros, vuestras |
| theirs, yours (formal, plural) | suyo, suya | suyos, suyas |
Note that the 1st and 2nd person plural possessive pronouns are the same as the possessive adjectives.
The gender and number of the possessive pronoun is determined by the noun, similarly to the adjectives. The noun where the pronoun refers to, can be in the same sentence before the verb:
¿Estos pantalones son tuyos?
Are these trousers yours?
If the noun is after the possessive, use the possessive adjective:
¿Estos son tus pantalones?
Are these your pants?
The noun is not necessary in the sentence, when the previous sentence or the overall context makes it clear which gender and number of the pronoun should be used:
¿De quién es esta camiseta? – Es mía.
Whose t-shirt is this? – It is mine.
No es suyo. / No es suya.
It is not his/hers/theirs.
The possessive pronoun is often preceded by a definite article. These cases can also be called stressed possessive pronouns:
Tu abuelo es mayor que el suyo.
Your grandfather is older than his/hers/theirs.
Genitive
The genitive marks ownership. In Spanish the genitive is formed using the preposition de. It is translated as ‘s or of in English:
Este es el pastel de Carmen.
This is Carmen‘s pie.
Estudias en la universidad de Sevilla.
You study at the university of Seville.
The same way is used to form compound words:
la taza de café = coffee cup
el cepillo de dientes = toothbrush