The Easy Way to Understand Possessive Adjectives in Spanish

Is this mine or yours? All of our everyday objects belong to someone, and we used what’s called possessive adjectives to talk about ownership. In Spanish, we use the same term, but the rules are slightly different. Let’s take your conversational fluency to the next level by learning more about possessive adjectives in Spanish. ¡Aprendamos!

What are Possessive Adjectives?

Possessive adjectives describe ownership and, unlike English, there are two forms in Spanish: short-form and long-form. Of the following examples, which of these use adjectives? As you look at them, remember that an adjective is a word that describes a person or a noun, like “blue” or “pretty.”

1. That is María’s backpack.
   Esa es la mochila de María.
2. That is her backpack.
   Esa es su mochila.
3.  I prefer her backpack.
   Prefiero la mochila suya.

Example one shows possession by featuring the name of the person who owns the object. This example does not have any possessive adjectives. Those come later, when the possessive adjectives replace de María or “María’s.” 

While long-form possessive adjectives (suya) follow the noun in Spanish, the short-form possessive adjectives (su) go directly before the noun. With that in mind, can you identify the possessive adjectives in examples two and three?

¡Correcto! In number two, the possessive adjective su means “her” and it precedes the noun it modifies. In the third example, the adjective suya also means “her” but it follows the noun it modifies. A simple trick to understand the difference between these two words is to translate su as “her” and suya as “of hers,” while understanding that we rarely use the long-form in English. 

Let’s learn more!

Short-Form Possessive Adjectives in Spanish

The short-form possessive adjectives in Spanish are, as the name implies, shorter. They also precede the noun, as in the second example above: su mochila. 

Just like how other Spanish adjectives must agree with the noun in gender and plurality, the possessive adjectives do, too. 

Spanish Pronoun	Masculine Singular	Feminine Singular	Masculine Plural	Feminine Plural	English Translation
Yo	mi	mi	mis	mis	my
Tú	tu	tu	tus	tus	your
Usted	su	su	sus	sus	your
Él	su	su	sus	sus	his
Ella	su	su	sus	sus	her
Nosotros	nuestro	nuestra	nuestros	nuestras	our
Ellos	su	su	sus	sus	their
Ustedes	su	su	sus	sus	your

Things to Keep in Mind

Interestingly, only the nosotros form of the short-form possessive adjectives changes according to gender. All the other adjectives have no change between their masculine and feminine structures. The plurality, however, does affect all the possessive adjectives, so be sure to add an –s when the noun is plural.

Another important point is that su pairs with five different pronouns. If you’re thinking this might cause some confusion, you’re right! We’ll look at how to clarify ownership later on in this blog post.

Take Note of the Accent Marks

Let’s talk about accent marks. While tildes may not seem like an incredibly important part of spelling, they actually help us differentiate between words that look and sound the same. For example, tu is a possessive adjective that goes before a noun, while tú is the informal pronoun for “you.” Never put the accent mark on the possessive adjective tu, or it may cause some confusion in written Spanish.

Likewise, mi and mí are completely different words. The one without a tilde is the possessive adjective. The one with an accent mark is an object pronoun that translates to “me.” 

While the accent marks don’t matter in spoken Spanish, they are absolutely essential in written Spanish. So, an easy way to remember which words carry an accent mark is to note that no short-form possessive adjective in Spanish uses an accent mark. 

When to Use Short-Form Possessive Adjectives

The use of short-form possessive adjectives in Spanish is pretty straightforward. They always go directly before a noun, and they never accompany an article (el, la, los, las). If you want to use a third-person possessive adjective (su, sus), make sure to mention the third-party person in your conversation beforehand to avoid confusion. Conversely, if you are using mi, ti, or nuestro, the ownership is clear, and you don’t need to worry about clarifying beforehand. Let’s look at some more examples.

Did Alex leave already? He left his backpack.
¿Ya salió Alex? Dejó su mochila.

You can use my phone.
Puedes usar mi teléfono.

Our kids go to a private school.
Nuestros hijos van a una escuela privada. 

They left me their names and contact information.

Ellos me dejaron sus nombres e información de contacto.

Excuse me, can I borrow your pen?

Disculpe, me presta su lapicero?

Long-Form Possessive Adjectives in Spanish

The long-form possessive adjectives in Spanish are slightly longer than the previous form, but they still have the same base. It’s important to understand the difference between a long-form possessive adjective and a possessive pronoun in Spanish, since they look identical but they are not the same.

1. ¡Vamos a la casa tuya! – Let’s go to your house!
2. Esa casa es tuya. – That house is yours.

Example 1 shows tuya as a long-form possessive adjective, whereas example 2 shows tuya as possessive pronoun. Get a detailed scoop here: How to Use Spanish Possessive Pronouns to Express Ownership.

Just like with the other possessive adjectives, these also must agree in gender and number with the noun.

Spanish Pronoun	Masculine Singular	Feminine Singular	Masculine Plural	Feminine Plural	English Translation
Yo	mío	mía	míos	mías	mine
Tú	tuyo	tuya	tuyos	tuyas	yours
Usted	suyo	suya	suyos	suyas	yours
Él	suyo	suya	suyos	suyas	his
Ella	suyo	suya	suyos	suyas	hers
Nosotros	nuestro	nuestra	nuestros	nuestras	ours
Ellos	suyo	suya	suyos	suyas	theirs
Ustedes	suyo	suya	suyos	suyas	yours

Things to Keep in Mind

While most short-form adjectives don’t change gender, all of the long-form possessive adjectives do. As such, it is important to pay attention to the adjective-noun agreement when using them. 

You’ll notice that most forms add -yo to the short-form adjectives (su becomes suyo, tu becomes tuyo), but the nosotros adjectives (nuestro, nuestra, etc.) remain exactly the same. The only possessive adjective that is slightly unique is mío. Not only does it omit the y, but it also uses an accent mark. Do you remember that no short-form possessive adjectives use tildes? Well, mío is the only adjective in both categories that takes an accent mark. 

You still use suyo to refer to five different pronouns, so make sure the owner is clear in conversation before using it.

When to Use Long-Form Possessive Adjectives

As I mentioned earlier, long-form possessive adjectives in Spanish go after the noun. Unlike English, these Spanish possessive adjectives emphasize the owner of the object. Since the adjective follows the noun, there will be an article (el, la, etc.) or demonstrative adjective (esto, esta, etc.)  before the noun.

Where did I put those papers of yours?

¿Dónde puse esos papeles tuyos?

Oh my god!

¡Ay, Dios mío!

You got them mixed up. This is my folder and that one is your folder.

Los confundiste. Esta es mi carpeta y esa es la carpeta tuya.

Although the long-form possessive adjective doesn’t technically exist in English, we do have a way of adding extra emphasis by saying “of yours” or “of mine,” for example. 

However, most uses of the long-form in Spanish translate exactly the same as the short-form.

What About Su?

Since su and suyo refer to many different pronouns, it’s important to focus on:

1. Providing context clues
2. Choosing su vs. suyo vs. de usted
3. Asking for clarification 

Context Clues

If you are the one speaking, use context clues to clarify the person you’re talking about. One way to do this is to use the pronoun or the person’s name at the beginning of the sentence.

Have you seen Mark? I have his money.

¿Has visto a Mark? Tengo su dinero.

(Using his name in the previous sentence makes it clear who the owner of the money is.)

I told him to leave me his number, but he forgot.

Le dije a él que me dejara su número, pero se le olvidó. 

(The owner of the number is clear by the reference to él at the beginning of the sentence.)

In the case of usted, make it clear that you are talking to the person and not about someone else by using the imperative conjugation form of usted.

Excuse me, is this your chair?

Disculpe, esta es su silla?

(The formal imperative conjugation of disculpar shows that you are talking to the person using usted and not talking about a third party.)

To be perfectly clear in your speech, use the full possessive form with de + usted.

Is this your chair?

Esta es la silla de usted?

Ask for Clarification

If someone is talking to you, don’t be afraid to ask for clarification! With all the nuances and various dialects of the Spanish language, even native speakers need to clarify things sometimes. Here are some examples of how to check your comprehension in a natural way.

Is this your chair?

Esta es su silla?

• ¿Si es mi silla? No, dale. (If this is my chair? No, go ahead.)
• ¿Si es mía? (If this is mine?)

Do you think this is her bag?

¿Será que esta es su bolsa?

• ¿De quién? (Whose?)
• ¿De ella? (Hers?)
• ¿De Lucía? (Lucía’s?)

When Not to Use Possessive Adjectives in Spanish

While most uses of the possessive adjectives in Spanish are comparable to English, there are several particular situations when you must use a definite article (el, la, los, las) instead of a short-form possessive adjective.

1. With body parts:
   1. Give me your hand.
      Dame la mano.
   2. My head really hurts.
      Me duele mucho la cabeza.
   3. My eyes are brown.
      Yo tengo los ojos cafés.
2. With clothes:
   1. My shoes don’t fit.
      No me quedan los zapatos.
   2. My hat fell off.
      Se me cayó la gorra.
3. In certain sentences:
   1. Let’s go to our house.
      Vamos a la casa.
   2. Don’t lower your gaze.
      No bajes la mirada.

Practice Makes Perfect

Are you ready to test yourself on all the different forms of possessive adjectives in Spanish? Try your hand at the exercises below, then check your responses with the answer key at the end of this blog post!

Exercise 1: Write the correct short-form possessive adjective.

1. ________ perros (ellos)
2. ________ curtinas (tú)
3. ________ marcadores (nosotros)
4. ________ ropa (él)
5. ________ libros (ellas)
6. ________ camas (yo)
7. ________ espejo (ustedes)
8. ________ comida (nosotras)
9. ________ article (usted)
10. ________ work (ella)

Exercise 2: Write the correct long-form possessive adjective.

1. Lentes ________ (él)
2. Silla ________ (tú)
3. Hijos ________ (ellos)
4. Computadora ________ (nosotras)
5. Documento ________ (ustedes)
6. Cuadernos ________ (ellas)
7. Juguetes ________ (nosotros)
8. Guitarra ________ (usted)
9. Bicicletas ________ (ella)
10. Toalla ________ (yo)

Exercise 3: Translate the following sentences into Spanish.

1. I love your shirt.
2. Her food is the best.
3. Wash your hands.
4. Give me that videogame of yours (inf.).
5. Our house is new.
6. I don’t like their style.
7. What do you think about his work?
8. Your (pl.) team is winning.
9. Go to your (inf.) room. 
10. Is this your (f.) desk?

Your Turn!

Now that you have the complete guide to possessive adjectives in Spanish, try them out in your conversations and written Spanish sentences. Listen to Spanish conversations or television and pay close attention to how native speakers use the possessive adjectives. Try and copy their format, with the help of this blog post, in your next Spanish conversations. If you would like to learn even more about Spanish grammar, join our Facebook group for daily posts! ¡Mejora tu español!

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Answer Key

Exercise 1: 1) sus 2) tus 3) nuestros 4) su 5) sus 6) mis 7) su 8) nuestra 9) su 10) su

Exercise 2: 1) suyos 2) tuya 3) suyos 4) nuestra 5) suyo 6) suyos 7) nuestros 8) suya 9) suyas 10) mía

Exercise 3: 1) Me encanta tu camisa. 2) Su comida es la mejor. 3) Lava las manos. 4) Dame ese videojuego tuyo. 5) Nuestra casa es nueva. 6) No me gusta su estilo. 7) ¿Qué piensas de su trabajo? 8) Su equipo está ganando. 9) Ve a tu cuarto. 10) ¿Este es su escritorio?