3.1 - 3.2 Spanish Possessive Adjectives & Descriptive

Adjetivos Posesivos (Possessive Adjectives)

Basic Examples

• ¡Es mi teléfono! (It's my phone!)

• Es mi pastel. (It's my cake.)

• No es tu pastel. (It's not your cake.)

• ¡Es mi pastel! (It's my cake!)

• No es su pastel. (It's not his/her/your (formal) cake.)

• No es nuestro pastel. (It's not our cake.)

• ¡Es mi pastel! (It's my cake!)

• Son mis pasteles. (They are my cakes.)

• Susie, no son tus pasteles. (Susie, they are not your cakes.)

• Son mis pasteles. (They are my cakes.)

• Mamá y papá, los pasteles no son de ustedes. (Mom and Dad, the cakes are not yours.)

• No son sus pasteles. (They are not their/your (formal) cakes.)

• Los pasteles no son de nosotros. (The cakes are not ours.)

• No son nuestros pasteles. (They are not our cakes.)

• ¡SON MIS PASTELES! (THEY ARE MY CAKES!)

Questions for Review

• ¿Cómo se dice my en español? (How do you say "my" in Spanish?)

• ¿Cómo se dice your (when you are talking to one person) en español? (How do you say "your" when you are talking to one person in Spanish?)

• ¿Cómo se dice your (when you are talking to more than one person) en español? (How do you say "your" when you are talking to more than one person in Spanish?)

• ¿Cómo se dice our en español? (How do you say "our" in Spanish?)

Possessive Adjectives in English

• This is my picture.

• Sam is enjoying his ice drop.

• Its mouth is very big.

• They are listening to their teacher.

• These are your shoes.

Subject Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives

Possessive Adjectives in Spanish

Definition

• Possessive adjectives qualify people, places, or things.

• They express the quality of possession or ownership.

Forms of Possessive Adjectives

Agreement

• Spanish possessive adjectives agree in number with the nouns they modify.

  • mi primo (my cousin)

  • mis primos (my cousins)

  • mi tía (my aunt)

  • mis tías (my aunts)

• nuestro/a agrees in both gender and number with the noun it modifies.

  • nuestro primo (our male cousin)

  • nuestros primos (our male cousins)

  • nuestra tía (our aunt)

  • nuestras tías (our aunts)

Placement

• Possessive adjectives are always placed before the nouns they modify.

  • ¿Está tu novio aquí? (Is your boyfriend here?)

  • No, mi novio está en la biblioteca. (No, my boyfriend is in the library.)

Avoiding Confusion with "su" and "sus"

• Because su and sus have multiple meanings (your, his, her, their, its), you can avoid confusion by using this construction:
  

  [article] + [noun] + de + [subject pronoun]

  • los parientes de él/ella (his/her relatives)

  • los parientes de Ud./Uds. (your relatives)

  • los parientes de ellos/ellas (their relatives)

Practice Examples

• Es mi libro. (It's my book.)

• Tu esposo es italiano. (Your husband is Italian.)

• Nuestro profesor es español. (Our professor is Spanish.)

• Es su reloj. (It's her watch.)

• Es su maleta. (It's your (formal) suitcase.)

• Sus primos son franceses. (Her cousins are French.)

• Mis amigas son inglesas. (My friends are English.)

• Son sus cuadernos. (They are his notebooks.)

• Son nuestras plumas. (They are our pens.)

• Sus nietos son japoneses. (Their grandchildren are Japanese.)