es mio? or es el mio?

Question

How do you know when to use "el" or "la" when telling that something belongs to someone. "Es el suyo." or "Es suyo."

Answer 1

It depends on what the object's gender is, whether it is masculine (el) or feminine (la). Please take note of exemptions regarding the use of el on some feminine nouns though.

Actually, I was wondering why some sentences use the article and some do not. To say 'it is his' I've seen "Es suyo" and "Es el suyo." Is there a rule for which to use or are they both ok? - awc17, Oct 23, 2009

"Es el suyo" can be roughly translated as "it's/that's the one that's his/hers." "Es suyo" is simply "it's his/hers." - Deanski, Oct 23, 2009

Ahh, so "Whose is this? Es tuyo" "Which one is mine? "Eso es el tuyo." Correct? - awc17, Oct 23, 2009

You got it! ¡Enhorabuena! - Deanski, Oct 23, 2009

gracias! - awc17, Oct 23, 2009

Answer 2

Generally, we say "es suyo" or "ésto/éso es suyo". I seems to me that adding a definite article emphasises the ownership - vide Deanski's explanation:

"Es el suyo" can be roughly translated as "it's/that's the one that's his/hers."

Answer 3

clipped from grammar article online:

The definite article is usually omitted when the possessive pronoun comes after the verb ser:

Answer 4

I always thought there was a "de" in there somewhere.

¿De quién es ese libro? - Es de mi padre.

Whose book is that? - It´s my father´s.

Answer 5

El libro es mio= the book is mine, es mi libro it is my book. libro is masculine hence mio. La carpeta es suya= The folder is his/hers, carpeta femenine so it is suya and not suyo. La mochila es tuya= the haversack is yours, es tu mochila. El coche es nuestro= it is our car. La casa es vuestra= it is your house that is to say it is jointly owned by the two people that you are speaking to so to sum up the pronouns are : mio-mia, tuyo-tuya, suyo-suya, nuestro-nuestra, vuestro-vuestra depending on the gender of the noun they are referring to. ¿De quién es esté libro? Es mio.

Answer 6

You use the definite article with the pronoun but not with the long-form adjective.

pronoun

adjective

Could you give an example or two? - awc17, Oct 23, 2009

Answer 7

Not really to emphasize. When you put el/la, it is more to distinguish which among the things talked about belongs to whom.