Posesivo / Possessive

1. Similarities between Possessive pronouns and adjectives

2. Types of Possessive Adjectives

3. Unstressed possessive adjectives

4. Stressed possessive adjectives

5. Possessive Pronouns

6. Neuter forms

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Pronombres y adjetivos posesivos/ Possessive pronouns and adjectives

Possessives identify the person to whom something belongs to. They denote ownership or possession.

When an unstressed possessive adjective (mi/my, tu/your, nuestro/our, su/ his, her) functions as a noun, it is called a possessive pronoun (mío/mine, tuyo/yours, nuestro/ours, suyo/his, hers).

Remember that possessive pronouns and stressed possessive adjectives have the same form.

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ADJETIVOS POSESIVOS/ Possessive adjective

In Spanish, there are 2 types of possessive adjectives: the unstressed and the stressed.

Unstressed possessive adjectives are placed before the nouns they modify.

Singular	mi, tu, su, nuestro, nuestra, vuestro, vuestra
Plural	mis, tus, sus, nuestros, nuestras, vuestros, vuestras

Mi, tu, su agree in number with the item possessed and not with the owner. They do NOT change with gender.

EXAMPLES:

• Mi casa es blanca. / My house is white.
• Mis casas son blancas./ My houses are white.
• Tu amigo es Juan./ Your friend is Juan.
• Tus amigos son Juan y Ana./ Your friends are Juan and Ana.
• Su madre es la jefa./ His mother is the boss.
• Sus padres son los jefes./ His parents are the bosses.

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Nuestro and vuestro agree with the items possessed in both number and gender.

EXAMPLES:

• Nuestro jefe (Juan) es trabajador./ Our boss (Juan) is hard-working.
• Nuestros jefes (Juan y Ana) son trabajadores./ Our bosses (Juan and Ana) are hard-working.
• Nuestra jefa (Ana) es trabajadora./ Our boss (Ana) is hard-working.
• Nuestras jefas (Silvia y Ana) son trabajadoras./ Our bosses (Silvia and Ana) are hard-working.

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Su and sus mean several different things; therefore, the following constructions are used for clarification:

su auto	el auto de él el auto de ella el auto de Ud. el auto de ellos el auto de ellas el auto de Uds.	his car her car your car their car their car your car
Sus autos	los autos de él los autos de ella los autos de Ud. los autos de ellos los autos de ellas los autos de Uds.	his cars her cars your cars their cars their cars your cars

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Stressed possessive adjectives

The stressed possessive adjectives follow the noun and agree in number and gender with the noun they modify or replace.

Pos. Adj.	Singular		Plural
	Masc.	Fem.	Masc.	Fem.
my	mío	mía	míos	mías
your	tuyo	tuya	tuyos	tuyas
his, her, your	suyo	suya	suyos	suyas
our	nuestro	nuestra	nuestros	nuestras
their, your	suyo	suya	suyos	suyas

EXAMPLES:

• Un colega mío habla./ A colleague of mine talks.
• La hija mía ganó./ My own daughter won.

NOTE: In the examples above, articles are used. This form adds emphasis to ownership. In English, emphasis is expressed with intonation.

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PRONOMBRES POSESIVOS/ Possessive Pronouns

Pronouns agree in gender and number with the nouns they replace. Furthermore, possessive pronouns are generally used with the corresponding definite article.

Pos. Adj.	Singular		Plural
	Masc.	Fem.	Masc.	Fem.
mine	mío	mía	míos	mías
yours	tuyo	tuya	tuyos	tuyas
his, hers, yours	suyo	suya	suyos	suyas
ours	nuestro	nuestra	nuestros	nuestras
theirs, yours	suyo	suya	suyos	suyas

EXAMPLE:

• Su proyecto costó poco dinero; el nuestro costó muchísimo./ Your project costs little money; ours costs much more.

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FORMAS NEUTRAS/ Neuter forms

Neuter forms express an idea or concept, lo mío, lo tuyo, lo suyo, lo nuestro, lo suyo.

EXAMPLE:

• Lo suyo no tiene cura./ Yours does not have a cure.

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