Possessive Pronouns

Question

Overview

Possessive pronouns are used to replace a noun that is being "possessed" by a possessive adjective. They are useful in shortening phrases like "my house" to "mine."

Possessive Pronouns

Each possessive pronoun has four forms (singular, plural, feminine, masculine) and must agree in gender and number to the noun they replace. They are the same as the long forms of possessive adjectives, but always have the definite article.

Possessive Pronouns

Singular		Plural		Meaning
Masculine	Feminine	Masculine	Feminine
el mío	la mía	los míos	las mías	mine
el tuyo	la tuya	los tuyos	las tuyas	yours (familiar, singular)
el suyo	la suya	los suyos	las suyas	his/hers/yours (formal, singular)
el nuestro	la nuestra	los nuestros	las nuestras	ours
el vuestro	la vuestra	los vuestros	las vuestras	yours (familiar, plural)
el suyo	la suya	los suyos	las suyas	theirs/yours (formal, plural)

Ambiguous Possession

Note that third person singular and plural have the exact same possessive pronouns! El suyo can mean his, hers, yours, or theirs.

Examples

• Mi casa es la suya. (My house is yours.)
• Tu coche es mejor que el mío. (Your car is better than mine.)
• No tengo mi celular. ¿Puedo usar el tuyo? (I don´t have my phone. Can I use yours?)

Neuter Possessive

Pronouns Neuter Possessive Pronouns refer to abstract concepts and ideas.

No Masculine or Feminine Here

Instead of the definite article, use lo in conjunction with the masculine possessive pronoun to form the neuter possessive pronoun. lo mío, lo tuyo, lo suyo, lo nuestro, and lo vuestro

Examples

• Lo mío es el tuyo. (What´s mine is yours.)
• Pablo quiere lo suyo. (Pablo wants what is his.)
• Lo nuestro es perfecto. (What we have is perfect.)

Exercises

1) Change the words in italics to regular possessive pronouns.

Example: Me gustan tus fotos. -> Me gustan las tuyas.

1. Su casa es muy bonita.
2. Mi computadra es muy nueva.
3. ¿Son tus libros o sus libros (de él)?
4. Nuestro padre es más cómico que tu padre.
5. Mis gatos son locos.

2) Express each phrase in Spanish using neuter possessive pronouns.

Example: What they have is delicious. -> Lo suyo es delicioso.

1. I fight for what is mine.
2. What she has is beautiful.
3. Don't touch what is ours.

Answers

Part 1

1. La suya es muy bonita.
2. La mía es muy nueva.
3. ¿Son los tuyos o los suyos?
4. El nuestro es más cómico que el tuyo.
5. Los míos son locos.

Part 2

1. Lucho por lo mío.
2. Lo suyo es bello.
3. No toques lo nuestro.