Nuestros/Nuestras Order

Question

I am confused why nuestras is after hijos - the noun - in this case. I’ve always been taught it’s “nuestros hijos/hijas”?

Estos niños son hijos nuestros.

These boys are our sons.Estas niñas son hijas nuestras.These girls are our daughters.

Silvia Píriz · Accepted Answer

Hola Caroline
You’re absolutely right that nuestros hijos/hijas is the usual structure when the possessive comes before the noun.
However, in your example:
Estos niños son hijos nuestros
the possessive appears after the noun and this is a slightly different construction.
When possessives come after the noun (hijos nuestros / hijas nuestras), they don’t function as regular adjectives but more like emphasis or clarification, similar to saying “those sons of ours” in English. It’s often used for stylistic reasons or to sound a bit more expressive.
So both structures are correct:

nuestros hijos → neutral, most common
hijos nuestros → more emphatic or stylistic

Apologies for any confusion in the earlier explanation and thanks for pointing this out!
Hope this helps clarify it.

Un saludo
Silvia