Possessive adjectives

Possessive adjectives are used to show ownership.

mi libro
my book

tu pluma
your pen

There are five possessive adjectives.

mi
tu
su

nuestro
vuestro

Three possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su) have only two forms, singular and plural.

mi
mis

tu
tus

su
sus

Possessive adjectives agree with the nouns they modify. That is, they agree with the thing possessed, not the possessor.

mi libro

my book

mis libros

my books

tu pluma

your pen

tus plumas

your pens

Mi, tu and su do not have masculine and feminine forms. They stay the same, regardless of the gender of the nouns they modify.

mi amigo
mi amiga

tus hermanos
tus hermanas

su libro
sus plumas

Mi means "my" ; tu means "your."

Mi casa es tu casa.
My house is your house.

Su, like tu, can mean "your." The difference between your (tu) and your (su) lies in the degree of formality the speaker wishes to convey.

Mi casa es tu casa.
(speaking to someone you would address as "tú")

Mi casa es su casa.
(speaking to someone you would address as "usted")

Note: The two words "tu" and "tú" are pronounced the same. Tú (with the written accent) is the subject pronoun meaning "you" (informal). Tu (without the written accent) is the possessive adjective meaning "your" (informal).

Su has four meanings: his, her, their and your (formal).

María busca a su hermana.
María is looking for her sister.

Juan busca a su hermana.
Juan is looking for his sister.

Ellos buscan a su hermana.
They are looking for their sister.

Su madre busca a su hermana.
Your mother is looking for your sister.

If the meaning of su is not clear from the context of the sentence, a prepositional phrase is used in place of su.

María busca a la hermana de él.
María looks for his sister.

El hombre busca las llaves de ella.
The man looks for her keys.

María busca el cuaderno de Juan.
María looks for Juan's notebook.

El hombre busca las llaves de Samanta.
The man looks for Samanta's keys.

Two possessive adjectives (nuestro and vuestro) have four forms.

nuestro
nuestra
nuestros
nuestras

vuestro
vuestra
vuestros
vuestras

Nuestro means "our."

nuestro hermano

our brother

nuestra hermana

our sister

nuestros hermanos

our brothers

nuestras hermanas

our sisters

Vuestro means "your" (familiar, plural). Like vosotros, vuestro is primarily used in Spain.

vuestro libro

your book

vuestra pluma

your pen

vuestros libros

your books

vuestras plumas

your pens

Here are all of the possessive adjectives:

mi(s)
my

tu(s)
your (fam. sing.)

su(s)
his, her, your (formal), their

nuestro(-a, -os, -as)
our

vuestro(-a, -os, -as)
your (fam. pl.)

Note that these possessive adjectives are not used with articles of clothing or body parts. Rather, the definite article is used.

Me gusta el vestido nuevo.
I like my new dress

Me duele el brazo.
My arm hurts.

Adjectives II

Many adjectives of nationality end in -o. These adjectives follow the same rules as other adjectives ending in -o. That is, they have four forms.

el muchacho mexicano
la muchacha mexicana

los muchachos mexicanos
las muchachas mexicanas

Many other adjectives of nationality end in a consonant. These adjectives do not follow the same rules as other adjectives ending in a consonant, rather, they have a distinct feminine form ending in -a.

el muchacho español
la muchacha española

los muchachos españoles
las muchachas españolas

There is another group of adjectives that does not follow the normal rules. Adjectives ending in -or, -án, -ón, or -ín also have a feminine form.

el chico hablador
la chica habladora

los chicos habladores
las chicas habladoras

el hombre trabajador
la mujer trabajadora

los hombres trabajadores
las mujeres trabajadoras

Note: Adjectives ending in "-erior" do not have a feminine form.

Adjectives that are descriptive usually follow the noun they describe.

el chico alto
la chica alta
los libros pequeños
las plumas rojas

Adjectives of quantity almost always come before the noun. Such adjectives tell how much or how many.

pocos libros
mucha energía
mucho trabajo
pocas casas

Sometimes, a descriptive adjective can precede the noun. If the adjective is descriptive, but speaks of a quality that is inherent and usually taken for granted, the adjective comes first.

la blanca nieve
the white snow (snow is inherently white)

los altos picos
the tall peaks (peaks are inherently tall)

Let's review the last two lessons.

Adjectives that end in -o have four forms.

alto
alta
altos
altas

Adjectives of nationality ending in -o are no different from other such adjectives.

guatemalteco
guatemalteca
guatemaltecos
guatemaltecas

Adjectives that end in -e have two forms.

inteligente
inteligentes

Most adjectives ending with a consonant have two forms.

popular
populares

Adjectives of nationality ending in a consonant have four forms.

español
española
españoles
españolas

Adjectives ending in -or, -án, -ón, or -ín have four forms.

hablador
habladora
habladores
habladoras

Adjectives that are descriptive usually follow the noun they describe.

casa blanca
chica alta

When an adjective speaks of a quality that is inherent and usually taken for granted, the adjective precedes the noun.

la blanca nieve
los altos picos

Adjectives of quantity usually come before the noun.

pocos libros
muchos libros

Adjectives I

Adjectives are frequently descriptive. That is, most often adjectives are used to describe a noun, or distinguish the noun from a group of similar objects. For example, an adjective might describe the color of an object.

the red pen
the blue pen

In Spanish, most adjectives change form, depending upon whether the word they modify is masculine or feminine. Notice the difference between "the tall boy" and "the tall girl."

el chico alto
la chica alta

Adjectives also change form depending upon whether the word they modify is singular or plural. Notice the difference between "the tall boy" and "the tall boys" ; "the tall girl" and "the tall girls."

el chico alto
los chicos altos

la chica alta
las chicas altas

Many common adjectives end in -o. These adjectives have four forms. The following words all mean "tall":

alto
alta
altos
altas

The correct form of the adjective depends upon the noun it modifies. Is the noun masculine or feminine? Singular or plural?

libro rojo
red book

pluma roja
red pen

libros rojos
red books

plumas rojas
red pens

Notice how the endings of the nouns and these adjectives are similar.

libro rojo
pluma roja
libros rojos
plumas rojas

Adjectives that end in -e also change form for singular or plural. To form the plural, simply add -s.

la chica inteligente
las chicas inteligentes

Adjectives that end in -e do not, however, change form for masculine or feminine.

la chica inteligente
el chico inteligente

las chicas inteligentes
los chicos inteligentes

Similarly, most adjectives that end in a consonant do change form for singular or plural, but do not change for masculine or feminine. To form the plural, add -es.

la chica popular
el chico popular

las chicas populares
los chicos populares