Possessive Spanish Adjectives

¿Listos? (Ready?)

The possessive Spanish adjectives are not too difficult. The easiest way to express possession in Spanish is by using the verb "tener" (to have) - we know this verb already, right? We aleready learned how to say yo tengo, tu tienes, el tiene, nosotros tenemos, ellos tienen.

Examples in sentences:

Yo tengo una escuela de español. (I have a Spanish school.)
Tú tienes una lección de español. (You have a Spanish lesson.)
El tiene un disco en español. (He has a Spanish CD.)

Another easy way to express possession in Spanish is using the preposition de (of) as an equivalent of the English 's. Some examples:

El cuaderno de Juan. (Juan's notebook.)
La computadora de Carlos. (Carlos' computer.)
La casa de Ana. (Ana's house)
Los libros de Susana. (Susana's books.)
El dormitorio de los niños. (The kid's room.)

Note: We never use an apostrophe and s to express possession.

The other way to express possession is with the questions "¿de quién es?" (whose is this) or "¿de quién son?" (whose are these), Let's see what I mean:

- ¿De quién es este libro? (Whose book is this?)
- Este libro es de María. (This is Maria's book, or This book belongs to Maria.)

- ¿De quién son estos libros? (Whose books are these?)
- Estos libros son de María. (These are Maria's books or These books belong to Maria)

Note: The verb ser (to be) followed by the preposition de (of) is used to express possession.

¿De quién es? (singular form) = Whose is this?
Es de Juan = It's Juan's.

¿De quiénes son? (plural form) = Whose are these?
Son de ellos. = They are theirs.

Do you understand now?...When we want to know to whom a thing or things belong to, we ask: "¿De quién es?" , or "¿De quién son?". Then we need to answer "es de" or "son de". More examples...

¿De quién es el disco en español? (Whose Spanish CD is this?)
El disco en español es de Steven. (It is Steven's Spanish CD, or The Spanish CD belongs to Steven.)

¿De quién son los discos en español? (Whose Spanish CDs are these?)
Los discos en español son de Steven. (These are Steven's Spanish CDs, or These Spanish CDs belong to Steven.)

Another way to express possession is using the possessive adjectives. Let's see:

Singular Possession

Mi (my)
ex: Mi diccionario es grande. (My dictionary is big.)

Tu (your)
ex: Tu lección es interesante. (Your lesson is interesting.)

Su (your, formal)
ex: Su pastel esta delicioso. (Your cake is delicious.)

Su (his,her)
ex: Su bebe es hermoso. (Her baby is beautiful.)

Nuestro, nuestra (our)
ex: Nuestro niño esta en la escuela de español / Nuestra niña esta en la escuela de español (Our boy is in the Spanish school. / Our girl is in the Spanish school.)

Su (your, plural)
ex: Su equipo es muy bueno. (Your team is very good.)

Su (their)
ex: Su caballo es muy caro. (Their horse is very expensive.)

Plural Possession

Mis (my)
ex: Mis diccionarios son grandes. (My dictionaries are big.)

Tus (your)
ex: Tus lecciones son interesantes. (Your lessons are interesting.)

Sus (your, formal)
ex: Sus pasteles estan deliciosos. (Your cakes are delicious.)

Sus (his, her)
ex: Sus bebes son hermosos . (His babies are beautiful.)

Nuestros, nuestras (our)
ex: Nuestros niños estan en la escuela de español / Nuestras niñas estan en la escuela de español (Our boys are in the Spanish school. / Our girls are in the Spanish school.)

Sus (your, plural)
ex: Sus equipos son muy buenos. (Your teams are very good.)

Su (their)
ex: Sus caballos son muy caros. (Their horses are very expensive.)

Note 1: The possessive adjective, like other Spanish adjectives, needs to agree in number and gender with the noun it describes. In other words, it has to agree with the object owned.

Note 2: Tú with and accent mark corresponds to you but tu without an accent mark corresponds to your.

As mentioned at the start, the possessive Spanish adjectives are really not that complicated. Hopefully you have a good grasp of them now.