Possessive Adjectives
Notes:
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Possessive adjectives are used to show ownership.
mi libro
my booktu pluma
your pen
There are five possessive adjectives.
mi
tu
sunuestro
vuestro
Three possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su) have only two forms, singular and plural.
mi
mistu
tussu
sus
Possessive adjectives agree with the nouns they modify. That is, they agree with the thing possessed, not the possessor.
- mi libro
- my book
- mis libros
- my books
- tu pluma
- your pen
- tus plumas
- your pens
Mi, tu and su do not have masculine and feminine forms. They stay the same, regardless of the gender of the nouns they modify.
mi amigo
mi amigatus hermanos
tus hermanassu libro
sus plumas
Mi means “my” ; tu means “your.”
Mi casa es tu casa.
My house is your house.
Su, like tu, can mean “your.” The difference between your (tu) and your (su) lies in the degree of formality the speaker wishes to convey.
Mi casa es tu casa.
(speaking to someone you would address as “tú”)Mi casa es su casa.
(speaking to someone you would address as “usted”)
Note: The two words “tu” and “tú” are pronounced the same. Tú (with the written accent) is the subject pronoun meaning “you” (informal). Tu (without the written accent) is the possessive adjective meaning “your” (informal).
Su has four meanings: his, her, their and your (formal).
MarÃa busca a su hermana.
MarÃa is looking for her sister.Juan busca a su hermana.
Juan is looking for his sister.Ellos buscan a su hermana.
They are looking for their sister.Su madre busca a su hermana.
Your mother is looking for your sister.
If the meaning of su is not clear from the context of the sentence, a prepositional phrase is used in place of su.
MarÃa busca a la hermana de él.
MarÃa looks for his sister.El hombre busca las llaves de ella.
The man looks for her keys.MarÃa busca el cuaderno de Juan.
MarÃa looks for Juan’s notebook.El hombre busca las llaves de Samanta.
The man looks for Samanta’s keys.
Two possessive adjectives (nuestro and vuestro) have four forms.
nuestro
nuestra
nuestros
nuestrasvuestro
vuestra
vuestros
vuestras
Nuestro means “our.”
- nuestro hermano
- our brother
- nuestra hermana
- our sister
- nuestros hermanos
- our brothers
- nuestras hermanas
- our sisters
Vuestro means “your” (familiar, plural). Like vosotros, vuestro is primarily used in Spain.
- vuestro libro
- your book
- vuestra pluma
- your pen
- vuestros libros
- your books
- vuestras plumas
- your pens
Here are all of the possessive adjectives:
mi(s)
mytu(s)
your (fam. sing.)su(s)
his, her, your (formal), theirnuestro(-a, -os, -as)
ourvuestro(-a, -os, -as)
your (fam. pl.)
Note that these possessive adjectives are not used with articles of clothing or body parts. Rather, the definite article is used.
Me gusta el vestido nuevo.
I like my new dressMe duele el brazo.
My arm hurts.