Look at this table to learn about Pronombre posesivo
English |
Masc sing |
Masc pl |
Fem sing |
Fem pl |
mine |
mío |
míos |
mía |
mías |
yours |
tuyo |
tuyos |
tuya |
tuyas |
yours (formal) |
suyo |
suyos |
suya |
suyas |
his |
suyo |
suyos |
suya |
suyas |
hers |
suyo |
suyos |
suya |
suyas |
its |
suyo |
suyos |
suya |
suyas |
theirs |
suyo |
suyos |
suya |
suyas |
Read and listen to these examples:
El disco de Alejandro Sanz es mío.The CD of Alejandro Sanz is mine.
Las croquetas de jamón eran mías.The ham croquettes were mine.
Elsa dice que ese pantalón vaquero es tuyo.Elsa says that that pair of jeans is yours.
Estos calcetines rojos son tuyos.These red socks are yours. ["you" = "tú" informal singular]
Yo creo que mi libro de ruso no es suyo.I think that my Russian book is not his.
El collar del perro es suyo.The dog's collar belongs to it. [lit: The dog's collar is its.]
Las bicicletas no eran suyas.The bicycles were not hers.
Ese bocadillo de atún no era suyo.That tuna sandwich was not yours. ["you" = "usted" formal singular]
Esta casa no es suya.This house is not yours. ["you" = "ustedes" formal plural]
Estos cuadernos no eran suyos.These exercise books were not theirs.
In the examples above, possessive pronouns agree with the noun they replace.
Sometimes these possessive pronouns are seen accompanied by the definite article:
El, la, los, las + pronombre posesivo
We use this formula generally in two cases:
1. To reinforce the feeling of possession.
1. Este regalo es tuyo.
2. Este regalo es el tuyo. This present is yours. [The article "el" reinforces the possession.]
2. When the possessive pronoun is at the beginning of a sentence.
-Mi aspiradora no funciona. -La mía se rompió ayer también.-My vacuum cleaner doesn't work. -Mine broke yesterday too.
More examples:
-Sus viajes son a diferentes lugares.
-Y los tuyos, ¿adónde son?-His trips are to different places.
-And yours, where are they to?
-Mis vacaciones fueron estupendas.
-¿Y las suyas, cómo fueron?-My holidays were great.
-And yours, how were they? ["yours" = "ustedes" plural formal]
-Mis tortillas son las mejores.
-Pues las mías llevan menos aceite.-My omelettes are the best ones.
-Well, mine have less oil.
-Sus novelas tratan sobre la historia de España.
-Te equivocas, las suyas tratan sobre la historia de Cuba.-His novels deal with Spanish history.
-You are mistaken, his are about Cuban history.
In Spanish, suyo, suya, suyos and suyas can refer to six different owners:
- he
- she
- it
- you [formal singular]
- you [formal plural]
- they
You need to work out the owner by the context.
It is not possible to use any of these possessive pronouns in front of a noun! Use a possessive adjective instead:
Míos libros son muy interesantes.
Mis libros son muy interesantes.My books are very interesting.
See also How to say ours and yours plural (possessive pronouns) and Adjetivo posesivo
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