Possessive Adjectives SD Flashcards
Spanish possessive adjectives are adjectives that indicate who or what possesses or owns something.
There are two different forms of Spanish possessive adjectives: short-form and long-form adjectives
Short-form Possessive Adjectives
Short-form possessive adjectives are the most common way to express possession. They must agree with the noun they describe in gender and number. This doesn’t end up being too complicated, because only nosotros
and vosotros
have distinct masculine and feminine forms.
Adjective Type
Masculine Singular Form Masculine Plural Form
Feminine Singular Feminine Plural
Mi is an example of a short-form possessive adjective with only two distinct forms.
Su is an example of a short-form possessive adjective with only two distinct forms.
mi libro
my book
mi bolsa
my bag
mis libros
my books
mis bolsas
my bags
Nuestro is an example of a short-form possessive adjective with four distinct forms.
Vuestro is an example of a short-form possessive adjective with four distinct forms.
nuestro perro
our dog
nuestros perros
our dogs
nuestra casa
our house
nuestras casas
our houses
My Peruvian friend is handsome.
Mi amigo peruano es guapo.
Where are your books?
¿Dónde están tus libros?
Are they your children?
¿Son sus niños?
Our house is very big.
Nuestra casa es muy grande.
Your flowers are very beautiful.
Vuestras flores son muy bonitas.
Their car is over there.
Su carro está allá.
Tricky Cases
In Spanish, possessive adjectives are normally not used when talking about body parts. They’re also often not used when talking about abstract concepts or something that it is obvious that only the speaker could possess.
Instead, you’ll see a definite article used in Spanish, though in English translations a possessive adjective may be used.
Body parts
My arm hurts.
Me duele el brazo.
Possessive Prepositional Phrases
Since su can be translated so many ways (his, her, formal singular your, their, formal plural your), it is sometimes helpful to use a prepositional phrase with personal pronouns or names instead.
Possessive Prepositional Phrase Formula
definite/indefinite article + entity possessed + de + pronoun/name of possessor
It’s his seat.
Es la silla de él.
Elena’s house is there.
La casa de Elena está allí.
Alan’s pizzeria is closed.
La pizzería de Alán está cerrada.
Long-form Possessive Adjectives
Long-form possessive adjectives are used to emphasize the owner of something, to contrast one owner with another, or to emphasize a personal relationship.
They must match the noun they modify in both gender and number in all forms. They are used less often than short-form possessive adjectives, but you should still know them.
mio mios mia mias tuyo tuyos tuya tuyas suyo suyos suya suyas nuestro nuestros nuestra nuestras vuestro vuestros vuestra vuestras
Second person formal singular suyo
Third person singular for all
Second person plural
Third person plural
Long-form possessive adjectives are placed after the noun they modify. In the case of long-form possessive adjectives,
you do often use an article (such as el or la) before the adjective if you are talking about a common noun
Where are those shoes of yours
¿Dónde están esos zapatos tuyos?
This is my chair and that one is your chair.
Esta es mi silla y aquella es la silla tuya.
