Doesn't "Abran los libros." mean "Open the book"?

Question

I'm a beginner in learning Spanish and found something confusing in Flashcards section under the topic of "Classroom commands/Los mandatos de la clase", "Abran los libros" is translated to "Open your book", is it correct? I thought it is "Abran sus libros". Or, both are right?

Can someone please help to clear this out for me, please?

Many thanks.

Answer 1

In Spanish, the definite article (the) is used differently than in English. Although "sus libros" (your -formal- books) is grammatically correct, I believe that, in Spanish, it is at least as natural to say "los libros" (literally 'the books'). Here is a link to a discussion about the use of the definite article in Spanish (there are four different pages total). However, it doesn't cover this particular example.

link text

Thank you for your answer, sir. It's more clear to me now. - the_brown_lady, Sep 13, 2010

Answer 2

abran los libros = open the books

abran sus libros = open your (you plural) books (formal)

abran tus libros = open your (you plural) books (informal or teacher to students) in Latin America - In Spain, use abrid instead of abran. Abrid is the vosotros form and not widely used outside of Spain.

Thank you very much. It's helpful. - the_brown_lady, Sep 13, 2010

canicos-tus is incorrect vuestros libros tus is still singular you, but modifying a plural noun - 0074b507, Sep 14, 2010

Answer 3

Open your books. Abran = you all open.

Thank you for your answer. - the_brown_lady, Sep 13, 2010