Posession

There are three ways in Spanish to indicate possession; the preposition de, adjectives, and pronouns.

De

The preposition de means of or from. Simply use the word de + the owner/possessor.

¿De quién es la chaqueta? → Whose jacket is it? (Of whom is the jacket?)
Es la chaqueta de Suana. → It is Juana’s jacket.
Es de Juana. → It is Juana’s.
¿De quiénes son los calcetines? → Who socks are they? (Of whom are the socks?)
Son de José. → They are Jose’s.
Son los calcetines de José. → They are Jose’s socks.

Cuyo

Cuyo means whose. It is an adjective and goes before a noun.

El chico, cuyo padre is muy rico, es mimado. → The boy, whose father is very rich, is spoiled.
Esta es la chica cuya hermana es muy bonita. → This is the girl whose sister is really pretty.

Adjectives

Possessive adjectives are placed in front of the noun. Remember, they need to match the noun that is possessed, not the owner of the noun. The short form of the adjectives go in front of the noun that is possessed. The long from will always go after it.

Short Form
mi(s) – my	nuestro(s) – our
tu(s) – your	vuestro(s) – your
su(s)- his, her, your	su(s) – your, their

 

Mi amigo. Mis amigos. → My friend. My friends.
Nuestra ciudad. Nuestras cosas. →  Our city. Our things.
Tu amigo. Tus hermanos. → Your friend. Your siblings.

 

Long Form
mío(s) – my, of mine	nuestro(s) – our(s), of ours
tuyo(s) – your, of yours	vuestro(s) – your(s), of yours
suyo(s) – (of) his, (of) hers, (of) yours	suyo(s) – your(s), of yours, their, of theirs

 

Un amigo mío. Los amigos míos. → A friend of mine. My friends.
La ciudad nuestra. Las cosas nuestras.→ Our city. Our things.
Un amigo tuyo. Los hermanos tuyos. →  A friend of mine. Your siblings.

Body parts

When referring to one’s own body parts, you don’t use the possessive adjectives. Instead, just use the definite article.

A Jorge le deule su el brazo. → Jorge’s arm hurts.
A mi me duele mi la cabeza. → My head hurts.
Los estudiantes levantan sus las manos. → The students raise their hands.

Pronouns

Possessive pronouns are the same as the long form of the adjective. They also use the definite article in front of the pronoun. Just like the adjectives though, they will match the noun that is possessed, not the possessor.

el mío, la mía, los míos, las mías	mine	el nuestro, la nuestra, los nuestros, las nuestras	ours
el tuyo, la tuya, los tuyos, las tuyas	yours	el vuestro, la vuestra, los vuestros, las vuestras	yours
el suyo, la suya, los suyos, las suyas	yours, his, hers, its	el suyo, la suya, los suyos, las suyas	yours, theirs

 

Mis músculos son más grandes que los tuyos. → My muscles are bigger than yours.
Tu perro es más inteligente que el mío. →  You dog is smarter than mine. 
Nuestra ropa es cara. La suya es barata. → Our clothing is expensive. Theirs is cheap.

*When you use ser, you don’t use the definite article.

¿De quién es la chaqueta? Es mía. → Whose jacket is it? It is mine.
Esa gatita es nuestra. → That cat is ours.

Practice

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