Spanish Possessive Adjectives

Possessive Adjectives in Spanish

Introduction

• Possessive adjectives indicate ownership or a relationship between a possessor and something possessed.
• In Spanish, possessive adjectives agree in number and gender with the noun they modify (the thing possessed), not the possessor.

Masculine Singular Nouns

• The possessive adjectives used with masculine singular nouns are:

  • mi (my)
  • tu (your, familiar singular)
  • su (your, formal singular; his; her; its)
  • nuestro (our, masculine)
  • vuestro (your, familiar plural, masculine)
  • su (your, formal plural; their)

• These are unstressed possessive adjectives, meaning they always come before the noun.

Examples

• "Yo tengo mi libro." (I have my book.)
• "Tú tienes tu cuaderno." (You have your notebook - familiar)
• "Ud. tiene su lápiz." (You have your pencil - formal)
• "Él tiene su sombrero." (He has his hat.)
• "Ella tiene su reloj." (She has her watch.)
• "Nosotros tenemos nuestro carro." (We have our car.)
• "Vosotros tenéis vuestro documento." (You have your document - familiar plural)
• "Uds. tienen su caballo." (You have your horse - formal plural)
• "Ellos tienen su perro." (They (masc.) have their dog.)
• "Ellas tienen su papel." (They (fem.) have their paper.)

Key distinction

• tú = you
• tu = your

Feminine Singular Nouns

• The possessive adjectives used with feminine singular nouns are:

  • mi (my)
  • tu (your, familiar singular)
  • su (your, formal singular; his; her; its)
  • nuestra (our, feminine)
  • vuestra (your, familiar plural, feminine)
  • su (your, formal plural; their)

• Notice that the only forms that differ from masculine singular are nuestra and vuestra.

Examples

• "Yo tengo mi pluma." (I have my pen.)
• "Tú tienes tu camisa." (You have your shirt - familiar)
• "Ud. tiene su cámara." (You have your camera - formal)
• "Él tiene su taza." (He has his cup.)
• "Ella tiene su blusa." (She has her blouse.)