Possessive adjectives (1) - Easy Learning Grammar Spanish
In English a possessive adjective is one of the words my, your, his, her, its, our or their used with a noun to show that one person or thing belongs to another.
- Like other adjectives in Spanish, possessive adjectives have to change for the feminine and plural forms.
| Singular | Plural | Meaning | ||
| masculine | feminine | masculine | feminine | |
| mi | mi | mis | mis | my |
| tu | tu | tus | tus | your (belonging to someone you address as tú) |
| su | su | sus | sus | his; her; its; your (belonging to someone you address as usted) |
| nuestro | nuestra | nuestros | nuestras | our |
| vuestro | vuestra | vuestros | vuestras | your (belonging to people you address as vosotros/vosotras) |
| su | su | sus | sus | their; your (belonging to people you address as ustedes) |
- For more information on Ways of saying ‘you’ in Spanish, see Pronouns.
| ¿Dónde está tu hermana? | Where’s your sister? |
| José ha perdido su cartera. | José has lost his wallet. |
| ¿Dónde están nuestros pasaportes? | Where are our passports? |
| ¿Por qué no traéis a vuestros hijos? | Why don’t you bring your children? |
| Mis tíos están vendiendo su casa. | My uncle and aunt are selling their house. |
TipPossessive adjectives agree with what they describe NOT with the person who owns that thing.
| Pablo ha perdido su bolígrafo. | Pablo has lost his pen. |
| Pablo ha perdido sus bolígrafos. | Pablo has lost his pens. |
- Note that possessive adjectives aren’t normally used with parts of the body. You usually use the definite article instead.
| Tiene los ojos verdes. | He’s got green eyes. |
| No puedo mover las piernas. | I can’t move my legs. |
- For more information on Articles, see Articles.
TipAs su and sus can mean his, her, its, your or their, it can sometimes be a bit confusing. When you need to avoid confusion, you can say the Spanish equivalent of of him and so on.
| su casa | → | la casa de él | his house (literally: the house of him) |
| sus amigos | → | los amigos de usted | your friends (literally: the friends of you) |
| sus coches | → | los coches de ellos | their cars (literally: the cars of them) |
| su abrigo | → | el abrigo de ella | her coat (literally: the coat of her) |
- For more information on Personal pronouns, see Pronouns.
Key points
PreviousNext - The Spanish possessive adjectives are:
- mi/tu/su/nuestro/vuestro/su with a masculine singular noun
- mi/tu/su/nuestra/vuestra/su with a feminine singular noun
- mis/tus/sus/nuestros/vuestros/sus with a masculine plural noun
- mis/tus/sus/nuestras/vuestras/sus with a feminine plural noun
- Possessive adjectives come before the noun they refer to. They agree with what they describe, rather than with the person who owns that thing.
- Possessive adjectives are not usually used with parts of the body. Use el/la/los or las as appropriate instead.
- To avoid confusion, it is sometimes clearer to use el coche de él/ella/ellas/ellos/usted and so on rather than su coche.