What are the possessive adjectives in Spanish? How to use possessive adjectives in Spanish? You may also wonder: Why is it so hard to learn possessive adjectives in Spanish? Is it really hard? We don’t think so. We also discuss possessive pronouns.
What are the possessive adjectives in Spanish?
Possessive adjectives are adjective that modify the noun to show ownership or possession of something. In English, the possessive adjectives are: “my,” “your,” “his/her,” “our,” and “their.” They always come before the noun, e.g., “This is my house.”
In Spanish, the possessive adjectives and pronouns must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Fortunately, only “nosotros/-as” and “vosotros/-as” have distinct masculine and feminine possessive adjective forms.
| Singular | Plural | |
| my | mi | mis |
| your (informal singular) | tu | tus |
| his/her/your (formal singular) | su | sus |
| our | nuestro/-a | nuestros/-as |
| your (informal plural) | vuestro/-a | vuestros/-as |
| their/your (formal plural) | su | sus |
How to use possessive adjectives in Spanish?
Now, back to the question: Why is it so hard to learn possessive adjectives in Spanish? It may seem hard at first, but you need to recognize that, unlike in English, the possessive adjective in Spanish agrees in number and gender with the noun it describes and not the subject.
Take the example: “mis hermanos,” which means “my brothers.” In English, we use “my” (singular) because we refer to the possessor.
In Spanish, we use “mis” because the noun we describe “hermanos” (brothers) is plural.
Similarly, in the example “nuestras madres” (our mothers), the possessive adjective “nuestras” agrees in gender and number with the noun it describes, i.e., “madres.”
We hope this clarifies what may seem a little difficult to English speakers on how to use possessive adjectives in Spanish.
“Amigo mío”
You may have heard the expression “amigo mío” (my friend). You would expect “my friend” to be “mi amigo” (masculine) or “mi amiga” (feminine). In Spanish, if we want to place emphasis on the possessor, we use a possessive pronoun after the noun to do the same function. But first …
What is a possessive pronoun?
A possessive pronoun replaces a noun to show ownership or possession of something. In English, the possessive pronouns: “mine,” “yours,” “his/hers,” “ours,” and “theirs” are used to replace a noun and its possessive adjective, e.g., “This house is mine.”
Let us now examine the possessive pronouns in Spanish. Unlike possessive adjectives, all possessive pronouns have masculine and feminine forms as well as singular and plural forms. One must use the correct form that agrees in gender and number with the noun being described.
Use of the Definite Article before the Possessive Pronoun
Possessive pronouns are normally preceded with a definite article “el,” “la,” “los,” or “las” that agrees in gender and number with the possessive pronoun. For example:
| Tu celular es mejor que el mío. | Your cell phone is better than mine. |
| Esa casa es la nuestra. | That house is ours. |
An exception is after the verb “ser,” where it is optional and can be dropped. For example:
| No es tuyo, es mío. | It is not yours, it’s mine. |
| Esa casa es nuestra. | That house is ours. |
The definite article is placed before the noun if the possessive pronoun is used after the noun to show that the emphasis is placed on the possessor. For example:
| un amigo mío | a friend of mine |
| la casa tuya | your house |
Neuter Article “Lo”
In another special case, the possessive pronoun can be preceded by the neuter article “lo” to denote property. Here are some example:
| lo mío | that which is mine |
| lo nostro | that which is ours |
| lo propio | one’s own property |
| lo ajeno | that which belongs to others |
“mi” vs. “mí” & “tu” vs “tú”
Notice the lack of accent on the vowel in the possessive adjectives “mi” and “tu.”
This is to distinguish them from the prepositional object pronoun “mí” meaning “me,” and the subject pronoun for second-person singular informal “tú” meaning “you,” respectively.
This is inconsequential in spoken Spanish and does not affect pronunciation.
Refer also to our Lesson on Possessive Adjectives & Pronouns in Spanish Lessons.
