How to express possession or ownership in Spanish.

1. POSESION
This may not be the kind of
“possession” you think!!!!

2. POSESION
It is time to learn to talk about what
belongs to people. In Spanish we
use the adjetivos posesivos
(possessive adjectives) to express
ownership or what belongs to
someone.

3. The word adjetivos is KEY here.
Remember that in Spanish the
adjectives agree in number
(singular/plural) and gender
(masculine/feminine) with the
noun they modify (describe).

4. There are five possessive
adjectives.
mi
tu
su
nuestro
vuestro

5. Three possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su)
have only two forms, singular and plural.
mi
mis
tu
tus
su
sus

6. Possessive adjectives agree with the nouns they modify.
That is, they agree with the thing possessed, not the one
who possesses
mi hermano
my brother
mis hermanos
my brothers
tu hermana
your sister
tus hermanas
your sisters

7. Mi, tu and su do not have masculine and
feminine forms. They stay the same, regardless
of the gender of the nouns they modify.
mi libro
mi pluma
tus hermanos
tus hermanas
su amigo
sus amigas

8. Mi means "my" ; tu means "your."
Mi casa es tu casa.
My house is your house.

9. Su, like tu, can mean "your."
The difference between your
(tu) and your (su) is how formal
the speaker wishes to be.
• Mi casa es tu casa.
(speaking to someone you would address as "tú")
• Mi casa es su casa.
(speaking to someone you would address as "usted")

10. Su has four meanings: his, her,
their and your (formal).
Jorge busca a su hermano.
Jorge is looking for his sister.
Pilar busca a su hermana.
Pilar is looking for her sister.
Ellos buscan a su hermana.
They are looking for their sister.
Su madre busca a su hermana.
Your mother is looking for your sister.

11. Two possessive adjectives (nuestro and
vuestro) have four forms.
nuestro
nuestra
nuestros
nuestras
vuestro
vuestra
vuestros
vuestras

12. Nuestro means "our."
nuestro hermano
our brother
nuestra hermana
our sister
nuestros hermanos
our brothers
nuestras hermanas
our sisters

13. Vuestro means "your" (familiar,
plural). Like vosotros, vuestro is
used in Spain.
vuestro libro
your book
vuestra pluma
your pen
vuestros libros
your books
vuestras plumas
your pens

14. los adjetivos posesivos
mi(s)
my
tu(s)
your (fam. sing.)
su(s)
his, her, your (formal), their
nuestro(-a, -os, -as)
our
vuestro(-a, -os, -as)
your (fam. pl.)