Possessives are split into two categories: possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns. Adjective - describes a noun. Pronoun - takes the place of a noun.
Your car is black. (adjective, describes the car) Mine is red. (pronoun, takes the place of noun, the car)
Possessive Adjectives
Spanish (singular/plural)
English
Mi/Mis
My
Tu/Tus
Your
Su/Sus
His/Her/Its
Nuestro/a/os/as
Our
Vuestro/a/os/as
Not used in Latin America
Su/Sus
Your, Their
In Spanish we use ‘tu’ and ‘tú’: a. ‘tú’ is the subject pronoun ‘you’. b. ‘tu’ is the possessive adjective ‘your.’
Use of the Possessive Adjective:
The possessive adjective is matched to the gender and number of the noun (NOT the owner).
1. Our windows Nuestras ventanas 2. My windows Mis ventanas 3. My window Mi ventana
As opposed to English, there are no apostrophes in possessive pronouns and adjectives in Spanish. Therefore, in English we say: My father’s car. In Spanish we say: El carro de mi padre, meaning, the car of my father.
Possessive Pronouns
Spanish (m/f/mp/fp)
English
(El,La,Los,Las) Mío/a/os/as
Mine
(El,La,Los,Las) Tuyo/a/os/as
Yours
(El,La,Los,Las) Suyo/a/os/as
His/Hers/Its
(El,La,Los,Las) Nuestro/a/os/as
Ours
(El,La,Los,Las) Vuestro/a/os/as
Not used in Latin America
(El,La,Los,Las) Suyo/a/os/as
Yours, Theirs
Use of the Possessive Pronoun:
The possessive pronoun is matched to the gender and number of the noun (NOT the possessor), just like the possessive adjective.
1. Is the dog yours (formal)? ¿La perra es suya? 2. It is ours Es nuestro 3. The houses are mine Las casas son mías
Nuestras ventanas