LoginPossessive Pronouns For Intermediate learners
What Are Possessive Pronouns?
A possessive pronoun (pronombre posesivo) replaces a noun phrase to show ownership or belonging. In Spanish, these pronouns must agree in gender and number with the thing possessed. Here are the Spanish possessive pronouns:
Subject pronoun | Possessive pronoun (singular) | Possessive pronoun (plural) |
|---|---|---|
yo | mío/mía | míos/mías |
tú | tuyo/tuya | tuyos/tuyas |
usted | suyo/suya | suyos/suyas |
él/ella | suyo/suya | suyos/suyas |
nosotros/nosotras | nuestro/nuestra | nuestros/nuestras |
ustedes | suyo/suya | suyos/suyas |
Ellos/ellas | suyo/suya | suyos/suyas |
Vuestro
In Spain, the second-person plural has two distinct forms for formal and informal contexts. "Vuestro/vuestra/vuestros/vuestras" are used as the informal form while "suyo/suya/suyos/suyas" are reserved for formal interactions. In Latin America, however, "suyo" and its different forms are used as the second-person plural possessive pronoun in all contexts.
La casa es vuestra.
The house is yours.
(only used in Spain – informal)
La casa es suya.
The house is yours.
(formal in Spain – general in Latin America)
Using the Definite Article
These pronouns are commonly preceded by the definite article "el" or "la." For example:
Nuestra casa es pequeña, pero la suya es grande.
Our house is small, but yours is big.
No me gustan tus ideas. Prefiero las suyas.
I don't like your ideas. I prefer theirs.
However, when they appear after the verb "ser," there is no need to use an article.
Las llaves son nuestras.
The keys are ours.
Este cuaderno es mío, pero esa pluma es tuya.
This notebook is mine, but that pen is yours.
Agreement
As mentioned in the introduction, the possessive pronouns in Spanish agree with the gender and number of the thing possessed, not the possessor. The possessor is only reflected in the grammatical person of the pronoun (e.g. first person: mío, mía, míos, mías).
El coche es mío y la casa es mía tambien.
As you can see, both possessive pronouns refer to the same person (the speaker) but their form changes based on the gender of the possessed noun.
Avoiding Ambiguity
"Suyo" and its different forms are used in the case of second-person singular (formal) and plural, as well as third-person singular and plural. Since the form of the pronoun does not reflect the gender and number of the owner, using the different forms of this pronoun does not help identify the possessor and can cause ambiguity. In order to avoid confusion in cases where the context does not give any clues to identify the owner, a prepositional phrase can be used to clarify the possessor.
El coche es suyo.
The car is yours/his/hers/theirs.
El coche es de él.
The car is his.
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