Possessives in Spanish Grammar
- Possessive Adjectives – Short Forms
- Possessive Adjectives – Long Forms
- Possessive Pronouns
- Online exercises to improve your Spanish
- Lingolia Plus Spanish
What are possessives in Spanish?
Possessives adjectives and pronouns (los posesivos) indicate possession or belonging.
Possessive adjectives (adjetivos posesivos) have two forms, a long form and a short form. As in English grammar, they always accompany a noun.
Possessive pronouns (pronombres posesivos), however, replace a noun.
Learn how to use Spanish possessive adjectives and pronouns with Lingolia, then practise using them in the exercises.
Example

Me llamo Julia y estoy buscando mi sombrero. Mi papá dice que está en el armario, pero ese no es el mío, es el suyo. Mis sombreros no están allí. ¡Mira! Nuestro perro lleva el suyo.
Possessive Adjectives – Short Forms
Possessive adjectives in Spanish grammar have two forms, a long one and a short one. The short forms of possessive adjectives, or adjetivos posesivos átonos, are you in the same way as possessive determiners in English grammar, they always come before a noun. Because they function as adjectives they must agree in gender and number with the noun they relate to. However, only the 1st and 2nd person plural have a different feminine form:
- Example:
- Estoy buscando mi sombrero.I’m looking for my hat.
- Ella busca su sombrero.She’s looking for her hat.
- Nuestro perro lleva un sombrero. Our dog is wearing a hat.
- Nuestra gata no tiene sombrero.Our cat doesn’t have a hat.
person | singular | plural |
---|---|---|
1st person singular | mi | mis |
2nd person singular | tu | tus |
3rd person singular | su | sus |
1st person plural | nuestro/-a | nuestros/-as |
2nd person plural | vuestro/-a | vuestros/-as |
3rd person plural | su | sus |
Possessive Adjectives – Long Forms
The long forms of possessive adjective (adjetivos posesivos tónicos) always come after the noun they refer to. They agree in gender and number with that noun. In English, we generally use of + possessive pronoun in this situation.
- Example:
- Es una conocida mía.She’s an acquaintance of mine.
- Amigos nuestros nos recomendaron ese hotel.Friends of ours recommended this hotel.
- Me gusta mucho esa autora. He leído varios libros suyos. I really like this author. I’ve read several books of hers.
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
person | masculine | feminine | masculine | feminine |
1st person singular | mío | mía | míos | mías |
2nd person singular | tuyo | tuya | tuyos | tuyas |
3rd person singular | suyo | suya | suyos | suyas |
1st person plural | nuestro | nuestra | nuestros | nuestras |
2nd person plural | vuestro | vuestra | vuestros | vuestras |
3rd person plural | suyo | suya | suyos | suyas |
Long from possessive adjective are used with the verb ser, when the noun forms part of the subject of a sentence. Here again, they must agree in number and person with the noun and person with the subject.
- Example:
- Este reloj es mío.This clock is mine.
- possessor: yo (1st person singular); object possessed: el reloj (masculine, singular)
- Los cuadros de la pared son nuestros.The pictures on the wall are ours.
- possessor: nosotros (1st person plural); object possessed: Los cuadros (masculine, plural)
Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns (pronombres posesivos) replace a previously-mentioned noun. The possessive pronoun must agree in gender and number with this noun. Possessive pronouns are preceded by the definite article.
- Example:
- No es mi sombrero, es el suyo.It’s not my hat, it’s his.
- No encuentro mi falda. ¿Puedo ponerme la tuya?I can’t find my skirt. Can I borrow yours?
person | singular | plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | masculine | feminine | |
1st person singular | el mío | la mía | los míos | las mías |
2nd person singular | el tuyo | la tuya | los tuyos | las tuyas |
3rd person singular | el suyo | la suya | los suyos | las suyas |
1st person plural | el nuestro | la nuestra | los nuestros | las nuestras |
2nd person plural | el vuestro | la vuestra | los vuestros | las vuestras |
3rd person plural | el suyo | la suya | los suyos | las suyas |