Possessives

Possessives are words like "my", "your" and "mine". In Spanish they match the thing that is owned, not the owner. That is the opposite of English "his" and "her", which match the owner.

Before the Noun: Mi, Tu, Su

Most of these only change for plural. Only nuestro also changes for gender.

• mi casa - my house
• mis amigos - my friends
• tu perro - your dog
• tus hermanos - your brothers, or your brothers and sisters
• nuestro padre - our father
• nuestra familia - our family
• nuestras cosas - our things

Note that tu (your) has no accent, while tú (you) does. In the same way, mi (my) has none, while mí (me) does.

Matching the Thing, Not the Owner

The possessive agrees with the noun, never with the person who owns it:

• A woman talking about her son says mi hijo.
• A man talking about his houses says mis casas.
• In nuestra madre (our mother), nuestra is feminine because madre is feminine, even if every speaker is male.

So su libro can be his book or her book: su only shows that there is one book.

The Problem With Su

Su can mean his, her, its, your (polite), their, or your (group). Usually the context makes it clear: Ana llama a su madre. - Ana calls her mother.

When it is not clear, use the noun with de and a pronoun after it:

• la casa de él - his house
• la casa de ella - her house
• la casa de usted - your house
• la casa de ellos - their house

Juan’s Book: Using De

Spanish has no "'s". To show that something belongs to a person, put the thing first, then de and the owner:

• el libro de Juan - Juan’s book
• la casa de mis padres - my parents' house
• el carro de mi hermana - my sister’s car

With el, de joins to make del: el perro del vecino - the neighbor’s dog.

After the Noun: Mío, Tuyo, Suyo

The long forms mean "mine", "yours" and so on. They change for gender and number, like an adjective.

After a noun, the long form means "of mine", "of yours": un amigo mío (a friend of mine), una idea tuya (an idea of yours).

Mine, Yours, Ours

After Ser

After ser (to be), the long form usually stands alone:

• Es mío. - It’s mine.
• ¿Esta llave es tuya? - Is this key yours?
• Las fotos son nuestras. - The photos are ours.

Instead of the Noun

Put el, la, los or las in front to replace a noun you have already mentioned:

• Tu teléfono es nuevo y el mío es viejo. - Your phone is new and mine is old.
• Mi casa es pequeña y la tuya es grande. - My house is small and yours is big.

Body Parts and Clothes

Spanish usually uses el or la instead of a possessive when it is obvious whose body or clothes it is:

• Me duele la cabeza. - My head hurts.
• Abre los ojos. - Open your eyes.
• Ponte el suéter. - Put on your sweater.

Using mi or tu here, as in Me duele mi cabeza, sounds odd to native speakers.