Possessive Adjectives (Los adjetivos posesivos)

The possessive adjectives that are used with a masculine singular noun are as follows:

mi tu

su

(my)

(your, fam., sing.)

(your, form., sing.) (his) (her)

nuestro vuestro

su

(our)

(your, fam., pl.)

(your, form., pl.) (their)

(the ones that always occur before a noun) The unstressed possessive adjectives

It is important to keep in mind that possessive adjectives agree with the thing or things possessed—

not with the possessor.

libro.

Tú tienes

Yo tengo

Ud. tiene

Él tiene

Ella tiene

cuaderno.

lápiz.

The unstressed possessive adjectives

sombrero.

reloj.

I have my book. mi

tu You have your notebook. (fam.)

You have your pencil. (form.) su

su He has his hat.

She has her watch. su

How would we say . . . ?

tú = you tu = your

carro.

Vosotros tenéis

Nosotros tenemos

Uds. tienen

Ellos tienen

Ellas tienen

documento.

caballo.

The unstressed possessive adjectives

perro.

papel.

We have our car. nuestro

vuestro You have your document. (fam. pl.)

You have your horse. (form. pl.) su

su They (masc.) have their dog.

They (fem.) have their paper. su

The possessive adjectives that are used with a feminine singular noun are as follows:

mi tu

su

(my)

(your, fam., sing.)

(your, form., sing.) (his) (her)

nuestra vuestra

su

(our)

(your, fam., pl.)

(your, form., pl.) (their)

The unstressed possessive adjectives

Notice that the only forms that differ from masculine singular are nuestra and vuestra.

pluma.

Tú tienes

Yo tengo

Ud. tiene

Él tiene

Ella tiene

camisa.

cámara.

The unstressed possessive adjectives

taza.

blusa.

I have my pen. mi

tu You have your shirt. (fam.)

You have your camera. (form.) su

su He has his cup.

She has her blouse. su

How would we say . . . ?

bicicleta.

Vosotros tenéis

Nosotros tenemos

Uds. tienen

Ellos tienen

Ellas tienen

maleta.

fruta.

The unstressed possessive adjectives

casa.

computadora.

We have our bicycle. nuestra

vuestra You have your suitcase. (fam. pl.)

You have your fruit. (form. pl.) su

su They (masc.) have their house.

They (fem.) have their computer. su

The possessive adjectives that are used with a masculine plural noun are as follows:

mis tus

sus

(my)

(your, fam., sing.)

(your, form., sing.) (his) (her)

nuestros vuestros

sus

(our)

(your, fam., pl.)

(your, form., pl.) (their)

The unstressed possessive adjectives

libros.

Tú tienes

Yo tengo

Ud. tiene

Él tiene

Ella tiene

cuadernos.

lápices.

The unstressed possessive adjectives

sombreros.

relojes.

I have my books. mis

tus You have your notebooks. (fam.)

You have your pencils. (form.) sus

sus He has his hats.

She has her watches. sus

How would we say . . . ?

carros.

Vosotros tenéis

Nosotros tenemos

Uds. tienen

Ellos tienen

Ellas tienen

documentos.

caballos.

The unstressed possessive adjectives

perros.

papeles.

We have our cars. nuestros

vuestros You have your documents. (fam. pl.)

You have your horses. (form. pl.) sus

sus They (masc.) have their dogs.

They (fem.) have their papers. sus

The possessive adjectives that are used with a feminine plural noun are as follows:

mis tus

sus

(my)

(your, fam., sing.)

(your, form., sing.) (his) (her)

nuestras vuestras

sus

(our)

(your, fam., pl.)

(your, form., pl.) (their)

The unstressed possessive adjectives

Notice that the only forms that differ from masculine plural are nuestras and vuestras.

plumas.

Tú tienes

Yo tengo

Ud. tiene

Él tiene

Ella tiene

camisas.

cámaras.

The unstressed possessive adjectives

tazas.

blusas.

I have my pens. mis

tus You have your shirts. (fam.)

You have your cameras. (form.) sus

sus He has his cups.

She has her blouses. sus

How would we say . . . ?

bicicletas.

Vosotros tenéis

Nosotros tenemos

Uds. tienen

Ellos tienen

Ellas tienen

maletas.

frutas.

The unstressed possessive adjectives

casas.

computadoras.

We have our bicycles. nuestras

vuestras You have your suitcases. (fam. pl.)

You have your fruits. (form. pl.) sus

sus They (masc.) have their houses.

They (fem.) have their computers. sus

mi

tu

su

nuestro

vuestro

su

(s)

(s) (s)

os, (a, as)

os, (a, as)

(s)

These are two-form adjectives, which agree only in number.

These are four-form adjectives, which agree in number and gender.

The unstressed possessive adjectives Here is an overview of all the possessive adjectives.

mi

tu

su

nuestro

vuestro

su

(s)

(s)

(s)

a, (os, as)

a, (os, as)

(s)

[de mí]

[de ti]

[de él] [de ella] [de usted]

[de nosotros/as]

[de vosotros/as]

[de ellos] [de ellas] [de ustedes]

The unstressed possessive adjectives The prepositional forms that can accompany or replace

the possessive adjectives are as follows:

These are used for clarification or emphasis. An example is shown on the following slide.

Profesor, Steven no encuentra el libro de español,

Su libro está en la mochila,

y Alice no tiene el libro de álgebra.

y su libro está en mi escritorio.

A student says to the teacher:

The teacher answers:

An example of possible confusion

To avoid confusion, a better answer would be: El libro de él (de Steven) está en la mochila, y el libro de ella (de Alice) está en mi escritorio.

De used as an indicator of possession

The construction de + noun can also be used to indicate possession.

Raúl’s book is interesting.

El libro de Raúl es interesante.

We use a definite article with the thing possessed.

Then de. And then the possessor.

The format in Spanish is as follows:

We never use an apostrophe in Spanish to express possession.

Es la pluma d el profesor Gómez. e

Es la pluma de la profesora Pérez. But . . .

Notice also . . . ¿La pluma es de ella?

No, es la pluma de él.

de + el = del

The oral link, or enlace, between de and el is reflected in the written merging of the two . . .

We do not combine de and él (him).

FIN