Possessive adjective confusion

Question

If you're subject is "usted", would your possessive adjective be "tu" or "su"? I was thinking "tu" because usted means you. However, on a verb chart, usted is in the same "box" as ella and él, and they use "su".

Sorry, that was confusing to even type. I hope you can understand that!

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NickDan,

I thought so, too! But this website told me otherwise.

"If your subject..." Also I think you mean "Possessive pronouns", not adjectives. - NickDan, Jun 5, 2011

Thanks for the link. I live and learn! :) - NickDan, Jun 5, 2011

Possessive pronouns are a specific type of adjective. Articles (a, an, the, una, un, el, la, etc.) are also a specific type of adjective. - webdunce, Jun 5, 2011

Answer 1

usted / su

tú / tu

Y usted, ¿cuál es su nombre?

Y tú, ¿cuál es tu nombre?

Both of the above are translated as...

And you, what is your name?

Muchas gracias - SonrisaDelSol, Jun 5, 2011

Answer 2

It is almost the same in English... with kings! Compare a question addressed to a normal person and another one to a king:

Are you enjoying the show? - ¿Estás [tú] disfrutando del espectáculo?

Is your majesty enjoying the show? ¿Está su majestad [?usted] disfrutando del espectáculo?

Why don't you say "are" in the second sentence, like you did in the first; after all, you are talking directly with someone. Instead, you are using "is", which is the third person form of "to be", which is normally used for "he" or "she" with people. Well, Spanish does that not only with kings, but with anyone formally addressed, as if "usted" was a kind of "your majesty". "Usted eres bienvenido" would sound like "Your majesty are welcome".

Wow, I don't think I've ever seen that put so well. I never thought about it that way. Excellent example! And I even had read how that usted was an evolution of "your majesty" but this really helps it sink in. - webdunce, Jun 5, 2011

Answer 3

Usted also means you, but in a formal sense. You see, "you" in English is expressed in several ways in Spanish: tú (informal, talking to one person), usted (formal, one person), vosotros (informal, two or more), & ustedes (formal, two or more). The truth is, English just so happened to not have other pronouns other than "you" to express these, but the idea is not foreign at all.

Usted, although it means "you", uses the 3rd person conjugations.

Thank you for clarifying! - SonrisaDelSol, Jun 5, 2011

Answer 4

You use the possessive pronoun "su" when speaking in the usted form.

Gracias - SonrisaDelSol, Jun 5, 2011

Answer 5

usted=su/suyo

tú=tu/tuyo

Don't be mislead by the verb box. The verb box is merely telling you which verb endings go with which subject pronouns.

tú and usted both mean you and are both 2nd person (one formal, one informal). Usted, however, takes 3rd person, singular verb endings, the same as he/she/it, so it is shown in the 3rd person, singular verb box.

Consejo excellente - SonrisaDelSol, Jun 5, 2011