What is a possessive?
Possessives are words that show ownership or belonging, like my in “my house.” They can function as adjectives or pronouns.
In this post, we’ll focus on possessive adjectives (adjetivos posesivos). Remember what an adjective is? It’s any word that gives us information about a noun (a word for a person, place, thing, or idea). Here are three examples of English possessive adjectives:
This is your book, Pepe.
Our trip was great!
They are enjoying their party.
Now, let’s learn how to express possession in Spanish!
POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES IN SPANISH
Spanish adjectivos posesivos are similar to those in English, but they must agree in number, and in some cases gender, with the noun they describe. Let’s take a closer look
In Spanish, the following possessive adjectives have only two forms: singular and plural.
| ESPAÑOL SINGULAR | ESPAÑOL PLURAL | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|
| MI | MIS | MY |
| TU | TUS | YOUR (SINGULAR INFORMAL) |
| SU | SUS | YOUR (SINGULAR FORMAL) |
| SU | SUS | YOUR (PLURAL) |
| SU | SUS | HIS |
| SU | SUS | HER |
| SU | SUS | THEIR |
EXAMPLES:
My house = Mi casa
My houses = Mis casas
Their book = Su libro
Their books = Sus libros
SU… IT’S SO AMBIGUOUS!
Although su can mean his, her, their, or your (singular formal and plural), its exact meaning is usually clear from the context. For example:
María está buscando su cuaderno.
María is looking for her notebook.
However, if the meaning is unclear, a clarifying phrase is used:
María está buscando el cuaderno de él.
Mary is looking for his notebook.
Below are examples of phrases using the adjective su:
su sombrero
(el sombrero de María, el sombrero de Juan, el sombrero de ella, el sombrero de él, el sombrero de usted)
su revista
(la revista de María y Elena, la revista de Juan y Jorge, la revista de ellas, la revista de ellos, la revista de ustedes)
WHAT ABOUT “OUR”?
The possessive adjective nuestro (our) has four forms to match the gender and number of the noun it modifies:
nuestro coche — our car
nuestra casa — our house
nuestros coches — our cars
nuestras casas — our houses
Now, let’s play this game so you learn these adjetivos posesivos in a snap!
