Possessive adjectives are used with a noun to show ownership or relationships between people, things or ideas. Usually they state to whom something belongs or is related to. This beginner’s guide will help you learn and practice possessives in Spanish.

Possessives in Spanish

Possessives in Spanish must agree with the noun they modify in terms of gender and number, not with the person who possesses the item/s.

Let’s look at the chart below with possessives in Spanish referring to one owner:

SINGULARPLURAL
mymimis
your (informal)tutus
your (formal)susus
his, her, itssusus

Yo tengo un cuaderno verde. Mi cuaderno está en la mesa.

I have a green notebook. My notebook is on the table.

Tu mesa es de madera y tus sillas son de plástico.

Your table is wooden and your chairs are made of plastic.

Señor, ¿puedo ver su pasaporte, por favor?

Sir, may I see your passport, please?

Juan tiene un coche. Su coche es negro.

Juan has a car. His car is black.

Let’s look at the chart below with possessives in Spanish referring to several owners:

SINGULARPLURAL
ournuestro
nuestra		nuestros
nuestras
your (informal)vuestro
vuestra		vuestros
vuestras
your (formal)susus
theirsusus

Nosotros tenemos una casa. Nuestra casa es pequeña.

We have a house. Our house is small.

Vosotros tenéis una gran familia. Vuestra familia vive en Barcelona.

You have a large family. Your family lives in Barcelona.

Señoras y señores, ¿estos son sus documentos?

Ladies and gentlemen, are these your documents?

¿Esos son los perros de Juan y Martina? ¿Son sus perros?

Are those Juan and Martina’s dogs? Are those their dogs?

Possessive Su

Su can have several meanings depending on the context in which it is used. For example, su bolsa could mean his bag / her bag / its bag / your bag (formal) / their bag.

Compare the following sentences:

Este es Pedro. Esta es su madre y estos son sus hermanos.

This is Pedro. This is his mother and these are his brothers.

Esta es María. Esta es su madre y estos son sus hermanos.

This is María. This is her mother and these are her brothers.

Mi gato está contento. Juega con su pelota.

My cat is happy. He plays with its ball.

Señor López, su bolsa está en su dormitorio.

Mr. López, your bag is in your bedroom.

Señores, ¿cuántos años tienen sus hijos?

Sirs, how old are your children?

Mis amigas son Ana y Luisa. Sus padres están en la cocina.

My friends are Ana and Luisa. Their parents are in the kitchen.

Exercises

You can do the following exercises to practice possessives in Spanish.

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Categorized in:

GrammarPossessives