Possessive Adjectives

(Los adjetivos posesivos)

The unstressed possessive adjectives

(the ones that always occur before a noun)
The possessive adjectives that are used with a
masculine singular noun are as follows:

mi

(my)

nuestro

(our)

tu

(your, fam., sing.)

vuestro

(your, fam., pl.)

su

(your, form., sing.)

(his)
(her)

su

(your, form., pl.)

(their)

It is important to keep in mind that possessive

adjectives agree with the thing or things possessed
not with the possessor.

The unstressed possessive adjectives

How would we say . . . ?

I have my book.

Yo tengo mi libro.
t = you
tu = your

You have your notebook. (fam.)

T tienes tu cuaderno.

You have your pencil. (form.)

Ud. tiene su lpiz.

He has his hat.

l tiene su sombrero.

She has her watch.

Ella tiene su reloj.

The unstressed possessive adjectives

We have our car.

Nosotros tenemos nuestro carro.

You have your document. (fam. pl.)

Vosotros tenis vuestro documento.

You have your horse. (form. pl.)

Uds. tienen su caballo.

They (masc.) have their dog.

Ellos tienen su perro.

They (fem.) have their paper.

Ellas tienen su papel.

The unstressed possessive adjectives

The possessive adjectives that are used with a
feminine singular noun are as follows:

mi

(my)

nuestra

(our)

tu

(your, fam., sing.)

vuestra

(your, fam., pl.)

su

(your, form., sing.)

(his)
(her)

su

(your, form., pl.)

(their)

Notice that the only forms that differ from

masculine singular are nuestra and vuestra.

The unstressed possessive adjectives

How would we say . . . ?

I have my pen.

Yo tengo mi pluma.

You have your shirt. (fam.)

T tienes tu camisa.

You have your camera. (form.)

Ud. tiene su cmara.

He has his cup.

l tiene su taza.

She has her blouse.

Ella tiene su blusa.

The unstressed possessive adjectives

We have our bicycle.

Nosotros tenemos nuestra bicicleta.

You have your suitcase. (fam. pl.)

Vosotros tenis vuestra maleta.

You have your fruit. (form. pl.)

Uds. tienen su fruta.

They (masc.) have their house.

Ellos tienen su casa.

They (fem.) have their computer.

Ellas tienen su computadora.

The unstressed possessive adjectives

The possessive adjectives that are used with a
masculine plural noun are as follows:

mis

(my)

nuestros

(our)

tus

(your, fam., sing.)

vuestros

(your, fam., pl.)

sus

(your, form., sing.)

(his)
(her)

sus

(your, form., pl.)

(their)

The unstressed possessive adjectives

How would we say . . . ?

I have my books.

Yo tengo mis libros.

You have your notebooks. (fam.)

T tienes tus cuadernos.

You have your pencils. (form.)

Ud. tiene sus lpices.

He has his hats.

l tiene sus sombreros.

She has her watches.

Ella tiene sus relojes.

The unstressed possessive adjectives

We have our cars.

Nosotros tenemos nuestros carros.

You have your documents. (fam. pl.)

Vosotros tenis vuestros documentos.

You have your horses. (form. pl.)

Uds. tienen sus caballos.

They (masc.) have their dogs.

Ellos tienen sus perros.

They (fem.) have their papers.

Ellas tienen sus papeles.

The unstressed possessive adjectives

The possessive adjectives that are used with a
feminine plural noun are as follows:

mis

(my)

nuestras

(our)

tus

(your, fam., sing.)

vuestras

(your, fam., pl.)

sus

(your, form., sing.)

(his)
(her)

sus

(your, form., pl.)

(their)

Notice that the only forms that differ from

masculine plural are nuestras and vuestras.

The unstressed possessive adjectives

How would we say . . . ?

I have my pens.

Yo tengo mis plumas.

You have your shirts. (fam.)

T tienes tus camisas.

You have your cameras. (form.)

Ud. tiene sus cmaras.

He has his cups.

l tiene sus tazas.

She has her blouses.

Ella tiene sus blusas.

The unstressed possessive adjectives

We have our bicycles.

Nosotros tenemos nuestras bicicletas.

You have your suitcases. (fam. pl.)

Vosotros tenis vuestras maletas.

You have your fruits. (form. pl.)

Uds. tienen sus frutas.

They (masc.) have their houses.

Ellos tienen sus casas.

They (fem.) have their computers.

Ellas tienen sus computadoras.

The unstressed possessive adjectives

Here is an overview of all the possessive adjectives.

mi(s)

nuestro (a, os, as)

tu(s)

vuestro (a, os, as)

su(s)

su(s)

These are two-form adjectives,

which agree only in number.

These are four-form

adjectives, which
agree in number
and gender.

The unstressed possessive adjectives

The prepositional forms that can accompany or replace
the possessive adjectives are as follows:

mi (s) [de m]

nuestro (os,a, as) [de nosotros/as]

tu (s)

[de ti]

vuestro (os,a, as) [de vosotros/as]

su (s)

[de l]
[de ella]
[de usted]

su (s) [de ellos]

[de ellas]
[de ustedes]

These are used for clarification or emphasis.

An example is shown on the following slide.

An example of possible confusion

A student says to the teacher:
Profesor, Steven no encuentra el libro de espaol,
y Alice no tiene el libro de lgebra.

The teacher answers:

Su libro est en la mochila, y su libro
est en mi escritorio.

To avoid confusion, a better answer would be:

El libro de l (de Steven) est en la mochila,
y el libro de ella (de Alice) est en mi escritorio.

De

used as an indicator of possession

The construction de + noun can also be used to

indicate possession.

Rals book is interesting.

The format in Spanish is as follows:

El libro de Ral es interesante.

We use a definite
Then de.
article with the thing
And then the possessor.
possessed.

We never use an apostrophe in Spanish to express possession.

de + el = del
Es la pluma de el profesor Gmez.
The oral link, or enlace, between de and el is
reflected in the written merging of the two . . .

But . . .

Es la pluma de la profesora Prez.

Notice also . . .

La pluma es de ella?
No, es la pluma de l.
We do not combine de and l (him).

FIN