eLanguage.com


Learn to Speak Spanish Online:
Spanish Grammar Guidebook

« Back to the Guidebook Index | Learn to Speak™ Spanish Deluxe

Possession

The most common way to express possession in Spanish is with what are referred to as the unstressed possessive adjectives:

SINGULAR
 

mi, mis- my
tu, tus- your, informal
su, sus- your, formal
su, sus- his, her, its

PLURAL
 

nuestro/a/os/as- our
vuestro/a/os/as-your, informal/ [Spain]
su, sus- your
su, sus- their

The possessive adjective precedes the noun to which it refers. The ending of the adjective reflects the number of the thing possessed: mi casa, mis libros, nuestra casa, nuestros libros, su casa, sus libros, etc.

Nuestro and vuestro reflect gender (masculine or feminine) as well as number: nuestras amigas, vuestros amigos, etc.

Since su and sus can have multiple meanings (‘your,’ formal, singular and plural; ‘his’; ‘her’; ‘its’;‘their,’ masculine or feminine), another structure is sometimes used instead for clarification: definite article + noun + de + possessor.

su libro = el libro de...
 

usted
él
ella
Juan
ustedes
ellos
ellas
Juan y María


Examples of Possession

  • Buenos días. Mi familia y yo queremos ir de vacaciones a Acapulco con un tour.