Spanish Possessive Pronouns
Spanish possessive pronouns replace the noun, establishing a relationship of possession. They match the noun they replace in gender and number:
Tu esposo es muy inteligente; el mío es un genio.
Your husband is very intelligent; mine is a genius.
Mi pluma no escribe. Préstame la tuya.
My pen doesn't write. Lend me yours!
-¿Son tuyas estas llaves? -No, son suyas. [or -No, son de él]
-¿Are these keys yours? -No, they're his.
¿En cuál coche vamos, en el nuestro o en el suyo? [or en el de ustedes]
In which car shall we go, in ours or in yours?
Escuché muchas ideas; la vuestra es la mejor.
I listened to many ideas; yours is the best.
Nuestra historia familiar se parece mucho a la suya. [or a la de ustedes]
Our family history is very similar to yours.
Table of Spanish Possessive Pronouns
| personwhopossesses | thing possessed | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | |||
| masculine | feminine | masculine | feminine | |
| yo | [el] mío | [la] mía | [los] míos | [las] mías |
| tú | [el] tuyo | [la] tuya | [los] tuyos | [las] tuyas |
| él, ella, usted | [el] suyo | [la] suya | [los] suyos | [las] suyas |
| nosotros | [el] nuestro | [la] nuestra | [los] nuestros | [las] nuestras |
| vosotros | [el] vuestro | [la] vuestra | [los] vuestros | [las] vuestras |
| ustedes, ellos | [el] suyo | [la] suya | [los] suyos | [las] suyas |
As seen on the examples above, the possessive pronouns "suyo", "suya", "suyos" and "suyas" can be exchanged for "de + personal pronoun [nominative]". This is often done to avoid ambiguity:
|
el suyo= el de él el de ella el de Usted el de ustedes el de ellos |
la suya = la de él la de ella la de Usted la de ustedes la de ellos |
|
los suyos = los de él los de ella los de Usted los de ustedes los de ellos |
las suyas = las de él las de ella las de Usted las de ustedes las de ellos |
Exercise
Fill in the missing possessive pronoun in each of the following Spanish sentences to match the meaning of their English twin sentences. Whenever there is more than one possibility, choose one of them.
|
1. El sombrero es ___________. |
The hat is yours. |
|
2. Mis anteojos son iguales a los _________. |
My glasses are just like his. |
|
3. ¿Este libro es el ______? |
¿Is this book mine? |
|
4. Esta casa es más grande que la ______________. |
This house is larger than ours. |
|
5. Me puse mi suéter; tú también ponte el ___________. |
I put on my sweater; put yours on too. |
|
6. Yo le di mi teléfono y ella me dio el ____________. |
I gave her my telephone number and she gave me hers. |
|
7. ¿La idea fue ______________? |
The idea was yours? |
|
8. Díganme, ¿esta maleta es __________? |
Tell me, is this suitcase yours? |
|
9. Este es tu té y el otro es el ________. |
This is your tea and the other one is mine. |
|
10. Tu trabajo es mejor que el ____________. |
Your job is better than his. |
The Neutral Possessive Pronoun
The neutral forms of the Spanish possessive pronouns are used to refer generically to somebody's matters, interests, passions...
Examples:
|
Todo lo mío es tuyo. |
All that is mine is yours. |
|
El flamenco es lo suyo. |
Flamenco is where her passion lies. |
|
Tú a lo tuyo. |
Mind your own business. |
|
La fama nos costó lo nuestro. |
We paid dearly for fame. |
| yo | [lo] mío |
|---|---|
| tú | [lo] tuyo |
| él, ella, usted | [lo] suyo |
| nosotros | [lo] nuestro |
| vosotros | [lo] vuestro |
| ustedes, ellos | [lo] suyo |
Check your answers
Here are the correct answers to the exercise above:
1. tuyo/suyo/vuestro, 2. suyos, 3. mío, 4. nuestra, 5. tuyo, 6. suyo, 7. tuya/suya/vuestra, 8. suya, 9. mío, 10. suyo
Meet the other families of Spanish pronouns:
| Personal |
| Possessive |
| Demonstrative |
| Relative |
| Indefinite |
Like us!
New! Comments
Have your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment in the box below.