In the previous lesson, we've learnt about Spanish possessive adjectives. A possessive adjective shows us to whom the noun belongs. A possessive pronoun is used in place of a noun and a possessive adjective. And while possessive pronouns are the equivalent of his/her/yours/theirs/mine/its in English, they are not used exactly in the same way in Spanish as they are in English. Here in this article, we will show you list of forms of Spanish possessive pronouns and guides on how and when to use them.
Forms of Spanish possessive pronouns
| Masculine Singular | Masculine Plural | Feminine Singular | Feminine Plural | |
First person singular (yo) - mine | mío | míos | mía | mías |
Second person singular (tú) - yours (familiar) | tuyo | tuyos | tuya | tuyas |
Second person formal singular (usted) - yours (formal), his, hers | suyo | suyos | suya | suyas |
| Second person plural (ustedes) | suyo | suyos | suya | suyas |
First person plural (nosotros) - ours | nuestro | nuestros | nuestra | nuestras |
| Second person plural (vosotros) - yours | vuestro | vuestros | vuestra | vuestras |
| Third person singular (él, ella) | suyo | suyos | suya | suyas |
| Third person plural (ellos, ellas) | suyo | suyos | suya | suyas |
How to use Spanish possessive pronouns
Spanish possessive pronouns are pretty similar to the possessive adjectives. However, they are normally preceded by a definite article, the equivalent of "the" in English.
For example:
Esta casa es la suya - This house is yours
Amo a mi esposa. Él no ama a la suya. - I love my wife. He doesn't love his.
The definite article is usually omitted when the possessive pronoun comes after the verb ser:
For example:
El carro grande es mío - The big car is mine
El carro pequeño es suyo - The small car is hers
Suyo and the related forms can be ambiguous. This is due to the fact that they can mean his/hers/yours/theirs/its. So when the context doesn't make its meaning clear, the possessive pronoun can be dispensed and replaced by a prepositional phrase such as de él (instead of his) or de ellos (instead of theirs).
Some examples of using possessive pronouns in Spanish:
Mi departamento está lejos de aquí, pero el suyo está cerca - My apartment is far away from here, but theirs is close
¿Es el celular de Malena? - No, el suyo no tiene funda
Is this Malena's cellphone? - No, hers doesn't have a case
Este libro no es mío. Es tuyo - This book isn't mine. It's yours
Cuido de tus mascotas como si fueran las mías - I take care of your pets as if there were mine
La casa pequeña es suya - The small house is hers. (unclarified)
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