Home of the largest collection of interactive Spanish learning resources on the web



 

 




Member
Login


 
Online Grammar Section


  Possessive pronouns indicate, well... possession. They serve the same purpose as possessive adjectives, but they take the place of a noun instead of describing one. Of course, they must agree in gender and number with the noun they are associated with:

Possessive pronouns
Singular
Plural
Neuter
el mío(m), la mía(f)
mine
los míos(m), las mías(f)
mine
lo mío
el tuyo(m), la tuya(f)
yours
los tuyos(m), las tuyas(f)
yours
lo tuyo
el suyo(m), la suya(f)
his, hers, yours(usted)
los suyos(m), las suyas(f)
theirs
lo suyo
el nuestro(m), la nuestra(f)
ours
los nuestros(m), las nuestras(f)
ours
lo nuestro
el vuestro(m), la vuestra(f)
yours (plural)
los vuestros(m), las vuestras(f)
yours(plural)
lo vuestro

- Este coche es mío.  (This car is mine.)
- ¿Este abrigo es el suyo? (Is this coat yours?)
- Tu coche es más nuevo que el mío.  (Your car is newer than mine.)
- No tengo mi móvil. ¿Puedo usar el tuyo? 
  (I don´t have my cell phone. Can i use yours?)

GUIDELINES TO POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

Use these pronouns with definite articles. You may also need to use the preposition "de" to clarify the message. See the following example:

- Te presento a Ana y Nacho. Hoy es su cumpleaños.
  (Let me introduce you to Ana and Nacho. Today is HER birthday.)
- ¿De quién es el cumpleaños? ¿El de ella o el de él?
- El de Ana.

In English, possessive pronouns indicate the gender. In Spanish the possession can be more ambiguous if it is not clarified.

********

The neuter possessive "lo" is used to refer to a concept or idea:

- Preocúpate de lo tuyo; yo, de lo mío.
  (Worry about what is yours and I will worry about what is mine.)
- Yo solamente quiero lo mío.
  (I only want what is mine.)

Click here to practice Spanish grammar.