© 2008 BITTERHANK

Learn them!

Practice them!

Master them!

OWN THEM!!!

Notes Examples

Practice

Things to Keep in Mind

Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives in English are words such as

“my”, “your”, or “their”. In Spanish these words come

before the noun too. You’ve seen “mi amigo” and

“tus padres” before. These mean “my” and “your”,

but why are they spelled this way? What are the

other possessive adjectives?

Home

Possessive Adjectives

my = mi / mis

your = tu / tus

his = su / sus

her = su / sus

its = su / sus

our = nuestro, a / nuestros, as

your (plural) = vuestro, a / vuestros, as

your (plural) = su / sus

their = su / sus

Here are all the possessive adjectives. Why are there so many spellings? Why is the word “su” used so much?

Home

Agreement

mi libro = my book singular

mis libros = my books plural

nuestro padre = our dad masculine singular

nuestra madre = our mom feminine singular

nuestros hermanos = our siblings masculine plural

nuestras tías = our aunts feminine plural

As with other adjectives, possessive adjectives have to agree. Only the adjectives that end with “o” (nuestro / vuestro) have to agree for gender.

Home

Agreement

nuestro abuelo = our grandpa

nuestra prima = our (girl) cousin

nuestros abuelos = our grandparents

nuestras hijas = our daughters

Be careful with agreement! The adjective agrees with what is “owned” or “possessed” NOT with who owns it. Every example here means “our”, but the ending changes depending on what is owned. Some students think that “nuestras” is something only girls would say, but that’s not true. It just depends on what comes after “our”.

Home

¿¡SU!?This one little word causes so much confusion for Spanish students! Don’t worry, my older students occasionally make mistakes with this word.

su / sus =

his

her

your (Ud.)

its

your (Uds.)

their

Home

¿¡SU!?This word agrees for what is owned, NOT who owns it, so the word “sus” not only means “their”, but it could mean so many other things. You’ll know by context. In English you’d never say “his dad” unless you had already mentioned who you were talking about. The same applies in Spanish.

Home

su regla = his, her, its, your, their ruler

sus reglas = his, her, its, your, their rulers

su & sus do not agree for gender

Plural Your?!?This is awful grammar, but just about all of you say it... your guys’

Say this sentence out loud. “I walked past your house yesterday and your guys’ dog chased me.” I guess it’s not as bad as “yunz’s dog”!

In English the word “your” can be singular or plural. If I’m talking to a group of people and say, “your parents” the group knows that I am talking about all of their parents. In English we use context. In Spanish there are several words for “your”.

Home

tu / tus = your (singular & informal, tú)

su / sus = your (singular & formal, Ud.)

vuestro,a / vuestros, as = your (plural in Spain, vosotros)

su / sus = your (plural in Latin America, Uds.)

Plural Your?!?These examples are essentially the “your guy’s” of Spanish. If you are talking to more than one person, and you want to say “your”, use these examples. Remember, the word should only end in “s” if more than one thing is owned.

Home

vuestro primo = your (boy) cousin

vuestra prima = your (girl) cousin

vuestros libros = your books

vuestras carpetas = your folders

su tío = your uncle

sus papeles = your papers

*Remember that su / sus don’t agree for gender.

*Also remember that su / sus can mean many other things.

Home

One Last NoteThink of the possessive adjectives like the way you think of verb endings.

Singular Plural

my our

your your

your your

his their

her

its

singular plural

mi / mis nuestro,a / nuestros, as

tu / tus vuestro,a / vuestros, as

su / sus su / sus

Home

ExamplesA mi padre le gusta ir de pesca. My dad likes to fish.

Mis amigos van también. My friends are going too.

Tu primo es muy perezoso. Your cousin is very lazy.

¿Quiénes son tus padres? Who are your parents?

¿Necesita Ud. su regla? Do you need your ruler? (formal)

¿Cuándo es su cumpleaños? When is your birthday? (formal)

El va con su familia. He’s going with his family.

El no quiere sus guisantes. He doesn’t want his peas.

A ella le gusta su escuela. She likes her school.

Ella tiene sus libros. She has her books.

Nuestro abuelo es alto. Our grandfather is tall.

Nuestra familia es grande. Our family is big.

Nuestras hermanas son gemelas. Our sisters are twins

Nuestros amigos no van. Our friends aren’t going.

Home

Examples

Vuestro amigo es simpático. Your friend is nice.

¿A vuestra madre le gusta cocinar? Does your mom like to cook

¿Tenéis vuestros libros? Do you guys have your books?

¿Vais con vuestras familias? Are you all going with your families?

Uds. necesitan hacer su tarea. You guys need to do your homework.

¿Van Uds. con sus padres? Are you guys going with your parents?

Ellos juegan con su perro. They play with their dog.

A ellos les gustan sus videojuegos. They like their videogames.

Practice

Home

There are several activities for possessive adjectives. Some may use words that you don’t know, but that’s okay. Just use context to figure out what is being said, and make the words agree.

Click below to go to Quia.

Things to Keep in Mind

Home

•Possessive adjectives come before the noun.

•Possessive adjectives agree for number, and sometimes number and gender (nuestro / vuestro).

•The word “su” means many things, and can be confusing.

•There are several ways to say “your” in Spanish. Be sure you have the right one!

•Look through the notes and examples several times, and do the practice activities.