{"id":143514,"date":"2023-05-26T19:36:33","date_gmt":"2023-05-26T23:36:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/spanish-possessive-adjectives\/"},"modified":"2025-03-26T15:02:48","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T19:02:48","slug":"spanish-possessive-adjectives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-possessive-adjectives\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use Spanish Possessive Adjectives (with Examples)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spanish possessive adjectives tell us who an object belongs to\u2014think words like “my,” “your,” “our,” etc. In this post, I’ll share everything you need to know about the different ways to express possession in Spanish.<\/p>\n

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

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What Are Possessive Adjectives?<\/h2>\n

Possessive adjectives show who has possession of something. <\/strong>The words “my,” “your,” “our,” “their,” etc. are all English possessive adjectives that show who something belongs to:<\/p>\n

Where are my<\/strong> keys?<\/p>\n

Let’s go to their<\/strong> house<\/p>\n

Spanish possessive adjectives work similarly, with a few key differences in how they’re formed.<\/p>\n

It’s important that you pay attention to the gender and the number of the thing being owned so that you use the proper adjective.<\/p>\n

Short-form Spanish Possessive Adjectives<\/h2>\n

Here are the different Spanish possessive adjectives. Note that to make a singular adjective plural, you simply add\u00a0s.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
English<\/th>Singular Possessive Adjective<\/th>Plural Possessive Adjective<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
My<\/td>Mi<\/td>Mis<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Your (informal)<\/td>Tu<\/td>Tus<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
His\/her\/its\/their\/your (formal)<\/td>Su<\/td>Sus<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Our<\/td>Nuestro
\nNuestra <\/td>		Nuestros
\nNuestras <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Your (informal plural)<\/td>Vuestro
\nVuestra<\/td>		Vuestros
\nVuestras<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Both nuestro\u00a0<\/i>and\u00a0vuestro\u00a0<\/em>change based on the gender<\/strong> of the thing we own. It\u2019s important to note that this has nothing to do with the gender of the person talking. It’s the gender of the object. For example:<\/p>\n

Nuestro<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>tel\u00e9fono <\/i>\u2014 Our<\/strong> telephone<\/p>\n

Vuestra<\/strong> casa <\/em>\u2014 Your<\/strong> house<\/p>\n

Also remember that those plural possessive adjectives are used for when multiple things are owned, not when multiple people own something. Here are some examples of how these short-form possessive adjectives are used:<\/p>\n

Mi<\/strong> familia vive en los Estados Unidos. \u2014 <\/i><\/em>My<\/strong> family lives in the United States.<\/p>\n

Me gusta tu<\/strong> camisa. \u2014 <\/i><\/em>I like your<\/strong> shirt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00bfCu\u00e1l es su<\/strong> direcci\u00f3n? <\/span><\/em>\u2014 What’s your address?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nuestro<\/strong> hijo es alto. <\/em>\u2014 Our<\/strong> son is tall.<\/p>\n

\u00bfCu\u00e1l es el nombre de vuestro<\/strong> gato? \u2014 <\/i><\/span><\/em>What’s your cat’s name?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Estos son mis<\/strong> libros.<\/em> \u2014 These are my<\/strong> books.<\/p>\n

\u00bfD\u00f3nde viven tus<\/strong> hermanos? <\/span><\/em>\u2014 Where do your<\/strong> siblings live?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sus<\/strong> clases son muy interesantes. <\/em>\u2014 Your<\/strong> classes are very interesting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00bfD\u00f3nde est\u00e1n nuestras <\/strong>cartas? \u2014 <\/i><\/em>Where are our<\/strong> cards?<\/p>\n

Vuestro<\/strong>s<\/strong> zapatos est\u00e1n afuera.<\/em> \u2014 <\/i><\/em>Your<\/strong> shoes are outside.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Long-form Spanish Possessive Adjectives<\/h2>\n

Long-form Spanish possessive adjectives are most common in things like older literature, poems and songs.<\/p>\n

They’re barely used in everyday speech nowadays, <\/strong>except for sentences about certain relationships. For example:<\/p>\n

Un amigo m\u00edo<\/strong> vive aqu\u00ed.<\/em> \u2014 A friend of mine<\/strong> lives here.<\/p>\n

\u00a1Madre m\u00eda<\/strong>! <\/em>\u2014 Good heavens! (literally “Mother of mine<\/strong>!”)<\/p>\n

Amigo m\u00edo<\/strong>, fue un placer verte.<\/em> \u2014 My dear friend (literally “friend of mine<\/strong>“), it was a pleasure to see you.<\/p>\n

Finally, long-form possessive adjectives are used after nouns. <\/strong>They modify according to the gender and number of the thing being possessed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
English<\/th>Masculine Singular<\/th>Feminine Singular<\/th>Masculine Plural<\/th>Feminine
\n Plural<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Of mine<\/td>M\u00edo<\/td>M\u00eda<\/td>M\u00edos<\/td>M\u00edas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Of yours (informal)<\/td>Tuyo<\/td>Tuya<\/td>Tuyos<\/td>Tuyas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Of his\/hers\/theirs\/yours (formal)<\/td>Suyo<\/td>Suya<\/td>Suyos<\/td>Suyas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Of ours<\/td>Nuestro<\/td>Nuestra<\/td>Nuestros<\/td>Nuestras<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Of yours (informal, plural)<\/td>Vuestro<\/td>Vuestra<\/td>Vuestros<\/td>Vuestras<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Here are some example sentences:<\/p>\n

Puedes usar un abrigo m\u00edo<\/strong>. <\/em>\u2014 You can use a coat of mine<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Una amiga tuya<\/strong> llam\u00f3 esta ma\u00f1ana. <\/em>\u2014 A friend of yours<\/strong> called this morning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Le\u00ed un libro suyo<\/strong> el a\u00f1o pasado.<\/em> \u2014 <\/span>I read a book of yours<\/strong> last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00bf<\/span>Viste una bicicleta nuestra<\/strong> por aqu\u00ed? <\/em>\u2014 Did you see a bike of ours<\/strong> around here?<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u00bfD\u00f3nde est\u00e1n esos hijos<\/span>\u00a0vuestros<\/strong>? <\/em>\u2014 Where are those kids <\/span>of yours<\/strong>?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Son amigas m\u00edas<\/strong> del colegio. \u2014 <\/span><\/em>They’re friends of mine<\/strong> from high school.<\/span><\/p>\n

Las llaves tuyas<\/strong> est\u00e1n en la mesa. <\/em>\u2014 Your<\/strong> keys are on the table. (Literally: The keys of yours<\/strong> are on the table.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Conoc\u00ed a unos colegas suyos<\/strong>.<\/em> \u2014 I met some colleagues of yours<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Esas chicas son primas nuestras<\/strong>.<\/em> \u2014 <\/span>Those girls are cousins of ours.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Pongan esos cuadernos vuestros<\/strong> en el escritorio.<\/em> \u2014 <\/span>Put those notebooks of<\/strong> yours<\/strong> on the desk.<\/p>\n

When Not to Use Possessive Adjectives<\/h2>\n

The most common mistakes made by English speakers with Spanish possessive adjectives actually involve using them too much. Here are some situations not<\/strong> to use possessive adjectives.<\/p>\n

When you have a reflexive verb<\/h3>\n

If the action in question is already “going back” onto the subject (as with a reflexive verb<\/a>) you don’t need a possessive adjective.<\/p>\n

Me lavo las<\/strong> manos. <\/em>\u2014 I’m washing my<\/strong> hands. (Literally: I’m washing myself the<\/strong> hands.) \u00a0<\/p>\n

When talking about body parts<\/h3>\n

Don’t use possessive adjectives if you’re talking about parts of the body. Instead, use the definite article<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Se rompi\u00f3 la<\/strong> pierna. <\/em>\u2014 She broke her<\/strong> leg. (Literally: she broke herself the<\/strong> leg.) \u00a0<\/p>\n

If it’s not followed by a noun<\/h3>\n

In this case, you probably need a possessive pronoun instead.<\/p>\n

\u00a1Todo lo que ves aqu\u00ed es m\u00edo<\/strong>! \u2014 <\/em>Everything you see here is mine<\/strong>!\u00a0<\/p>\n

If ownership is obvious<\/h3>\n

If it’s clear what (or who) belongs to who, there’s no need for a possessive adjective. For example if you’ve already mentioned that something belongs to you, or it can easily be assumed from the context.<\/p>\n

Voy a ir al<\/strong> hotel. <\/em>\u2014 I’m going to go to my<\/strong> hotel. (Literally: I’m going to go to the<\/strong> hotel.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Possessive Adjectives that Repeat<\/h2>\n

In Spanish, you generally repeat the possessive adjectives when talking about more than one object that’s owned\u2014<\/em>in contrast to in English, where one possessive adjective is usually enough.<\/p>\n

Son mis<\/strong>\u00a0l\u00e1pices\u00a0y mis<\/strong> cuadernos. \u2014 <\/em>They are my<\/strong> pencils and my<\/strong> notebooks.<\/p>\n

The exception to this is when you’re using two nouns to describe the same actual thing.<\/p>\n

Es mi<\/strong> amante y mejor amigo. \u2014 <\/i>He is my<\/strong> lover and best friend. (talking about a single amazing person who fulfills these two functions)<\/p>\n

Possessive Adjectives vs. Possessive Pronouns<\/h2>\n

It can be pretty easy to get mixed up between possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns in Spanish.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The simplest way to remember the difference is to recognize that possessive adjectives\u00a0describe\u00a0nouns,<\/strong> whereas<\/strong> pronouns completely replace them.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

Mi<\/strong> gato es negro. \u2014 <\/em>My cat is black.<\/p>\n

El gato negro es m\u00edo<\/strong>. <\/em>\u2014 The black cat is mine.<\/p>\n

Note that the first sentence uses a possessive adjective (my<\/strong> cat) and the second sentence uses a possessive pronoun (the cat is mine<\/strong>).\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you want to know more about possessive pronouns, check out this post:<\/p>\n

Spanish Possessive Pronouns: What They Are and How to Use Them<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n