The possessive words in Spanish are words used to express possession or belonging.

In this section we are going to study two groups of possessives: possessives adjectives and possessives pronouns.

Possessives adjectives

Possessive adjectives are used to indicate possession in Spanish, and they must agree in number (singular or plural) with the item being possessed.

Here is a list of the Spanish possessive adjectives that are used before the noun:

Mi / mis (my)

tu / tus  (your)

su / sus (its, his, hers)

nuestro /-a / -os / -as ( your-plural)

vuestro /-a /-os / -as (your)

su / sus (their)

Only nuestro and vuestro have feminine forms, and they must agree in gender unlike the rest that can be used in both genders.

– Nuestro perro (our dog)

– Nuestra casa (our house)

– Vuestro amigo (your friend)

– Vuestra abuela (Your grandma)

Examples:

Mi coche es nuevo (My car is new)

Nuestra casa está en España (Our house is in Spain)

Mis amigos son españoles (My friends are Spanish)

Vuestro perro es muy bonito (Your dog is so beautiful)

Su casa es más pequeña que la nuestra (Their house is smaller than ours)

Possessive adjective after the noun.

In Spanish, some possessive adjectives are used after the noun, and they must agree in number (singular or plural) and gender with the item possessed.

Here is a list of the Spanish possessive adjectives that are used after the noun:

mí (-a, -os, -as)  mine, of mine

tuyo (-a, -os, -as) yours, of yours

suyo (-a, -os, -as) yours, of yours, his, of his

hers, of hers

nuestro (-a, -os, -as) ours, of ours

vuestro (-a, -os, -as) yours, of yours

suyo (-a, -os, -as) yours, of yours, theirs, of theirs

Examples:

Un amigo mío vive in Londres.

A friend of mine lives in London

Una amiga mía está en España.

A friend of mine is in Spain

Los cafés son nuestros.

The coffes are ours.

Conocí a un primo suyo.

I met a cousin of his

Quiere el mí­o.

He wants mine.

Perdieron los nuestros.

They lost ours.

Possessive pronouns in Spanish

Possessive pronouns are the words used to replace nouns modified by possessive adjectives. In Spanish, there are different forms of possessive pronouns depending on if the noun is masculine or feminine, singular or plural.

Mine: el mío / la mí­a / los míos / las mí­as

Yours: el tuyo / la tuya / los tuyos / las tuyas

His / Her / Its/: el suyo / la suya / los suyos / las suyas

Ours: el nuestro / la nuestra / las nuestras / los nuestros

Yours: el vuestro / la vuestra / los vuestros / las vuestras

Theirs: el suyo / la suya / los suyos / las suyas

Note that the Spanish possessive pronouns for third person singular (él, ella) and plural (ellos, ellas) are identical. Sometimes Spanish speakers need to clarify what they men to avoid misunderstanding in these cases.

There are two important things to know about Spanish possessive pronouns:

The possessive pronoun must match the noun being replaced in gender and number.

You should use the appropriate definite article.

Here you have some examples:

Mi padre está aquí ¿dónde está el tuyo?

My father is here; where’s yours?

Me gustan salir con mis amigos y ella prefiere con los suyos.

I like going out with my friends and she prefers hers.

Tus cuadros son buenos, pero los míos son mejores.

Your paintings are good, but mine are better.

Estos libros ¿son vuestros o nuestros?

These books, are they yours or ours?

No sé donde está el tuyo, pero el mío es este

I don´t know where is yours but this one is mine

Mis padres no pueden, llama a los suyos

My parents can´t make it, call his / hers/ theirs

Note that Spanish possessive pronouns are identical to stressed form possessive adjectives, but their usage is different: possessive pronouns replace nouns, while possessive adjectives modify nouns.

Neuter possessive

There is also a neuter possessive pronoun which is used when the possessed thing is abstract or unspecific object. This is formed with the neuter article -lo- plus the masculine singular possessive pronoun (mí­o, tuyo, suyo, nuestro, vuestro).

¿Quieres lo mí­o?

Do you want mine (my work, my food…)?

Encontró lo suyo.

He found his / hers (his / hers stuff, his things).

¿Cuánto es lo nuestro?

How much is ours (bill)?

Me gustan más los vuestros

I like more yours

No entiendo lo tuyo

I don´t understand yours (behaviour, acctitude)

We hope we helped with the Spanish adjectives. (Spanish info)