{"id":142898,"date":"2024-02-02T12:01:45","date_gmt":"2024-02-02T17:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/cuyo-spanish\/"},"modified":"2025-01-29T06:08:51","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T11:08:51","slug":"cuyo-spanish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/cuyo-spanish\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use Cuyo in Spanish: Meaning, Forms and Examples"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever seen the word cuyo<\/em> (whose, of which) in Spanish?\u00a0Cuyo<\/em>\u00a0is not a possessive<\/a> per se, but it always has something to do with possession.\u00a0It word helps us identify possessor and possessed in a sentence and additionally allows us to introduce more information in the form of a relative clause.<\/p>\n

While it’s linked to possession, cuyo <\/em>is actually not a possessive word but a relative adjective.\u00a0<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

About Relative Adjectives like Cuyo<\/em> in Spanish<\/h2>\n

Relative adjectives are adjectives that show relation<\/a> in sentences. They refer back to something or someone that has already been mentioned (the antecedent)<\/strong>\u00a0and introduce new information about them in the form of a relative clause<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

All this sounds way more complicated than it is in reality.<\/p>\n

Let’s have a look at one example with our guest star of the day: Cuyo<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Cuyo<\/em>\u00a0and its forms\u00a0always refer back to a person or thing that appears before them in the sentence<\/strong> (this is called the antecedent<\/a>). Following\u00a0cuyo<\/em>\u00a0is another person or thing. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Its mission in the sentence is to make it clear that the antecedent is the possessor of the second person or thing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

La chica cuyo<\/strong> gato es negro es mi hermana. <\/em>(The girl whose<\/strong> cat is black is my sister.)<\/p>\n

This sentence contains an antecedent (the girl), the relative adjective cuyo <\/em>(whose) and additional information that can be analyzed like this:<\/p>\n

gato <\/em><\/strong>(cat) \u2014 This is the noun possessed by the girl, who is the owner.<\/p>\n

es negro <\/em><\/strong>(is black) \u2014 This is the new information about the cat.<\/p>\n

es mi hermana <\/em><\/strong>(is my sister) \u2014 This is the new information about the antecedent.<\/p>\n

Every sentence with cuyo <\/em>or one of its siblings (cuya, cuyos <\/em>and cuyas,<\/em> all meaning “whose”) will look similar to the previous example. They will always follow this pattern:<\/p>\n

antecedent + cuyo <\/em>+ a noun<\/p>\n

The new information will normally come at the end of the sentence:<\/p>\n

El hombre cuya<\/strong> bufanda es roja es mi padre. <\/em>(The man whose<\/strong> scarf is red is my father.)<\/p>\n

However, we can also have that information at the beginning:<\/p>\n

Mi padre es el hombre cuya<\/strong> bufanda es roja. <\/em>(My father is the man whose<\/strong> scarf is red.)<\/p>\n

Either way, both in Spanish and English, the meaning of the sentence is the same: I have a father and he is the man who is wearing a red scarf.<\/p>\n

Now that you know what a relative adjective is and how to form sentences with it, let’s get to know\u00a0cuyo\u00a0<\/em>a little better and compare it with English “whose.”<\/p>\n

How to Use\u00a0Cuyo\u00a0<\/em>in Spanish:\u00a0Cuyo<\/em> vs. Whose<\/h2>\n

Cuyo <\/em>and “whose” function very similarly in their respective languages. They both refer to an antecedent and introduce information in the form of a relative clause.<\/p>\n

You can observe the parallelisms in these two sentences:<\/p>\n

La mesa\u00a0cuya\u00a0<\/strong>pata est\u00e1 partida es m\u00eda.<\/em><\/p>\n

The table whose\u00a0<\/strong>leg is broken is mine.<\/p>\n

Of course, not all Spanish sentences and their translations into English will have a one-to-one correspondence, but generally speaking, cuyo <\/em>and\u00a0“whose” require the exact same components in their sentences (antecedent, relative, possessed thing\/person, new information), so their structures will be very similar most of the time.<\/p>\n

1. While English only has “whose” for all genders<\/a> and numbers<\/a>, Spanish has four forms: cuyo <\/em>(masculine singular), cuya <\/em>(feminine singular), cuyos <\/em>(masculine plural) and cuyas<\/em> (feminine plural).\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here they are in action:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
El ni\u00f1o cuyo<\/strong> libro es verde vive en Madrid. <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>The kid whose<\/strong> book is green lives in Madrid.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
El hombre cuya<\/strong> bicicleta est\u00e1 rota vende coches. <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>The man whose<\/strong> bike is broken sells cars.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
La mujer cuyos<\/strong> hijos son cocineros acaba de llegar. <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>The woman whose<\/strong> children are cooks has just arrived.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
El avi\u00f3n cuyas<\/strong> azafatas son de Miami acaba de aterrizar. <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>The plane whose<\/strong> stewardesses are from Miami has just landed.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

2. These four forms always have to agree with a noun (because they are adjectives<\/a>), but they do not agree with the antecedent!<\/strong> Instead, they agree with the possessed thing or person:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
El ni\u00f1o cuyo libro<\/strong> es verde vive en Madrid.<\/em><\/td>The kid whose book<\/strong> is green lives in Madrid.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
El hombre cuya bicicleta<\/strong> est\u00e1 rota vende coches.<\/em><\/td>The man whose bike<\/strong> is broken sells cars.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
La mujer cuyos hijos<\/strong> son cocineros acaba de llegar.<\/em><\/td>The woman whose children<\/strong> are cooks has just arrived.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
El avi\u00f3n cuyas azafatas<\/strong> son de Miami acaba de aterrizar.<\/em><\/td>The plane whose stewardesses<\/strong> are from Miami has just landed.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

3. The nouns<\/a> these relative adjectives agree with will always follow them:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t
Visit\u00f3 la casa cuyo due\u00f1o<\/strong> es de Venezuela. <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>He visited the house whose owner<\/strong> is from Venezuela.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Not: <\/strong>Visit\u00f3 la casa due\u00f1o cuyo<\/strong> es de Venezuela. <\/em>(He visited the house owner whose<\/strong> is from Venezuela.)<\/p>\n

Now you’re ready to enjoy everything each of these four little words can offer you in Spanish!<\/p>\n

I have divided them into four groups just for clarity’s sake.<\/p>\n

Believe it or not, you already know everything there is to know about them, so the rest of this post consists mainly of examples. The sentences in each group only contain the corresponding relative adjective, so it will be easier for you to see and understand each of them.<\/p>\n

Spanish Cuyo <\/em>and Its Variations<\/h2>\n

1. Cuyo<\/em><\/h3>\n

Cuyo <\/em>is the masculine singular relative adjective.<\/strong> The nouns following it have to be masculine singular as well:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
He comprado el tel\u00e9fono cuyo teclado<\/strong> es amarillo. <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>I have bought the phone whose keyboard<\/strong> is yellow.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
El hombre cuyo paraguas<\/strong> he encontrado es de Nueva York. <\/a>\n <\/em>*<\/td>The man whose umbrella<\/strong> I have found is from New York.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mi madre, cuyo vestido<\/strong> es azul, est\u00e1 all\u00ed. <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>My mother, whose dress<\/strong> is blue, is over there.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

*Note: Even though\u00a0paraguas<\/em> looks plural, it is singular!<\/p>\n

2. Cuya<\/em><\/h3>\n

Cuya <\/em>is the feminine singular relative adjective.<\/strong> The nouns that follow it are also feminine singular:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
Ha venido la chica cuya madre<\/strong> es peruana. <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>The girl whose mom<\/strong> is Peruvian has arrived.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
El hombre cuya mujer<\/strong> es Marta acaba de llamar. <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>The man whose wife<\/strong> is Marta has just called.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mi ordenador, cuya letra F<\/strong> no funciona, es muy caro. <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>My computer, whose F key<\/strong> does not work, is very expensive.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

3. Cuyos<\/em><\/h3>\n

Cuyos <\/em>is the masculine plural relative adjective.<\/strong> The nouns following it must be masculine plural, too:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
Hemos visitado al chico cuyos amigos<\/strong> viven en Guadalajara. <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>We have visited the guy whose friends<\/strong> live in Guadalajara.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Los estudiantes cuyos libros<\/strong> han sido robados est\u00e1n tristes. <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>The students whose books<\/strong> have been stolen are sad.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
El ni\u00f1o, cuyos padres<\/strong> est\u00e1n divorciados, vive con su abuela. <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>The kid, whose parents<\/strong> are divorced, lives with his grandma.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

4. Cuyas<\/em><\/h3>\n

Cuyas <\/em>is the feminine plural relative adjective.<\/strong> The nouns following it are feminine plural as well:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
Vivo en una ciudad cuyas calles<\/strong> son muy estrechas. <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>I live in a city whose streets<\/strong> are very narrow.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
La chica cuyas hermanas<\/strong> puedes ver en esta foto vendr\u00e1 luego. <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>The girl whose sisters<\/strong> you can see in this picture is coming later.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
El perro, cuyas patas<\/strong> est\u00e1n partidas, no puede caminar. <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>The dog, whose legs<\/strong> are broken, can't walk.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

You can check out the word in all its forms and uses on the FluentU program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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There are a couple of differences between the two words, though, and some things to take into account when building sentences<\/a> with cuyo:<\/em><\/p>\n