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Possessive Adjectives (00)

¿Dónde están tus amigos? means Where are your friends?

¿Dónde están tus amigos?

Possessive adjectives tell us who or what owns something. All adjectives, including possessive adjectives, in Spanish correspond in gender and number with the noun they modify.

There are two types of possessive adjectives: short and long. The short possessive adjectives are more common and they are placed before the noun.

Short possessive adjectives when we possess only ONE.

Yo tengo un amigo. (I have a friend.)	Él es mi amigo. (He is my friend.)
Tú tienes un amigo. (You have a friend.)	Él es tu amigo. (He is your friend.)
Él tiene un amigo. (He has a friend.)	Él es su amigo. (He is his friend.)
Ella tiene un amigo. (She has a friend.)	Él es su amigo. (She is her friend.)
Usted tiene un amigo. (You have a friend. - formal)	Él es su amigo. (He is your friend. - formal )

Nosotros tenemos un amigo. (We have a male friend.) Nosotros tenemos una amiga. (We have a female friend.)	Él es nuestro amigo. (He is our friend.) Ella es nuestra amiga. (She is our friend.)
Vosotros tenéis un amigo. (You all have a male friend.) Vosotros tenéis una amiga. (You all have a female friend.)	Él es vuestro amigo. (He is your friend.) Ella es vuestra amiga. (She is your friend.)
Ellos tienen un amigo/una amiga. (They have a friend.)	Él/ella es su amigo/amiga. (He/she is their friend.)
Ustedes tienen un amigo/amiga. (You have a friend. you all - formal)	Él/ella es su amigo/amiga. (He/she is your friend. you all - formal)

(Él) tiene su casa. = He has his house. (su casa = his house)

Él tiene su casa.

Su boda es el sábado. = Their wedding is on Saturday. (su boda= their wedding)

Su boda es el sábado.

Aquí está tu reloj. = Here is your watch. (tu reloj = your watch)

Aquí está tu reloj.

Nuestro perro es pequeño. = Our dog is small. (nuestro perro = our dog)

Nuestro perro es pequeño.

Mi oficina es grande. = My office is big. (mi oficina = my office)

Mi oficina es grande.

Mañana es su fiesta de cumpleaños. = Her birthday party is tomorrow. (su fiesta = her party)

Mañana es su fiesta de cumpleaños.

When we possess MORE than one, we have to use the plural form of possessive adjectives.

Yo tengo dos libros. (I have two books.)	Son mis libros. (They are my books.)
Tú tienes dos libros. (You have two books.)	Son tus libros. (They are your books.)
Él tiene dos libros. (He has two books.)	Son sus libros. (They are his books.)
Ella tiene dos libros. (She has two books.)	Son sus libros. (They are her books.)
Usted tiene dos libros. (You have two books. - formal)	Son sus libros. (They are your books.)

Nosotros tenemos dos hermanos. (We have two brothers.) Nosotros tenemos dos hermanas. (We have two sisters.)	Son nuestros hermanos. (They are our brothers.) Son nuestras hermanas. (They are our sisters.)
Vosotros tenéis dos hermanos. (You have two brothers.) Vosotros tenéis dos hermanas. (You have two sisters.)	Son vuestros hermanos. (They are your brothers.) Son vuestras hermanas. (They are your sisters.)
Ellos tienen dos hermanos/hermanas.(They have two brothers/sisters.)	Son sus hermanos/hermanas. (They are their brothers/sisters.)
Ustedes tienen dos hermanos/hermanas. (You have two brothers/sisters. you all - formal)	Son sus hermanos/hermanas. (They are your brothers/sisters. you all - formal)

Nuestras vacaciones son bonitas. = Our holiday is nice. (nuestras = vacaciones is a feminine plural noun)

Nuestras vacaciones son bonitas.

(Tú) quieres a tus abuelos. = You love your grandparents. (tus abuelos = your grandparents)

Tú quieres a tus abuelos.

Ella ama a sus tres hijos. = She loves her three sons. (sus hijos = her sons)

Ella ama a sus tres hijos.

Mis hermanas tienen ojos marrones. = My sisters have brown eyes. (mis hermanas = my sisters)

Mis hermanas tienen ojos marrones

The meaning of the forms SU, SUS may not be clear. We can specify the owner by adding a prepositional phrase with DE (OF) or replace the adjective with the phrase completely.

(su) de él	his
(su) de ella	her
(su) de usted	your (formal)
(su) de ellos	their (males)
(su) de ellas	their (females)
(su) de ustedes	your (you all - formal)

Sus ojos de él están cansados. = His eyes are tired. (SUS ojos/los ojos de él = his eyes)

Los ojos de él están cansados.

Su tienda de usted tiene todo. = Your shop has everything (SU tienda/la tienda de usted = your shop)

La tienda de usted tiene todo.

Sus amigos de ella ya trabajan. = Her friends already work. (SUS amigos/los amigos de ella = her friends)

Los amigos de ella ya trabajan.

The long form of possessive adjectives is less common. Long possessive adjectives can stand alone or they can follow the noun.

El libro es mío. La casa es mía.	The book is mine. The house is mine.
El libro es tuyo. La casa es tuya.	The book is yours. The house is yours.
El libro es suyo. La casa es suya.	The book is his. The house is his.
El libro es suyo. La casa es suya.	The book is hers. The house is hers.
El libro es suyo. La casa es suya.	The book is yours.(formal) The house is yours.(formal)

El libro es nuestro. La casa es nuestra.	The book is ours. The house is ours.
El libro es vuestro. La casa es vuestra.	The book is yours. The house is yours.
El libro es suyo. La casa es suya.	The book is theirs. The house is theirs.
El libro es suyo. La casa es suya.	The book is yours.(you all - formal) The house is yours.(you all - formal)

When we have more than one thing, the long possessive adjective will be in plural (add -s to the singular form).

las cosas mías

los padres tuyos

los zapatos suyos

las hijas nuestras

las pinturas suyas

las amigas tuyas

Summary

Possessive adjectives tell us whose something is.
Possesive adjectives concur in gender and number with the noun they modify.
There are two types of possessive adjectives. The short ones precede the noun and the long ones can stand alone or follow the noun.
The forms VUESTRO, VUESTRA, VUESTROS, VUESTRAS are used only in Spain, in Latin America is used SU and SUS instead.