mi and mío

Question

why are there two ways to say "my"? Mi and mío. Por ejemplo: Mi hermano o hermano mío. How do you know which one to use and what are the other forms?

Thanks for that question. :-) - 0095ca4c, Jun 20, 2012

Answer 1

Try looking at it as my and mine, just as in English.

You are my friend. Tú eres mi amigo.

She is a friend of mine. Es una amiga mía.

He is a friend of mine. Es un amigo mío.

They are friends of yours. Son amigos tuyos.

I hope I have that right and hope that it helps.

Roger

Thank you! That helps. What are the other forms? - animo, Jun 20, 2012

don't forget your tildes on mío and mía. good information! - unMica, Jun 20, 2012

Thanks for catching my lack of tilde´s. I´ll go fix that. - rogspax, Jun 20, 2012

no worries, like I said, you gave good information : ) - unMica, Jun 20, 2012

I was going to ask you why there was no preposition in front of the possessive adjective, but Pumpkin's link explained it. Thanks rogspax! Your answer helped a lot. - 0095ca4c, Jun 20, 2012

Answer 2

The other forms of "Mío", which means something like "mine" are:

-Mío (Masculine) -Mía (Feminine) -Mías (Fem. Plural) -Míos (Masc. Plural)

The other adjectives in this category are:

-Tuyo(a/os/as) Yours-sing. familiar -Suyo(a/os/as) His/Hers/Yours–Sing. Polite and Plural Polite -Vuestro(a/os/as) Yours-Plural Familiar (in Spain) -Nuestro(a/os/as) Ours

These are some links that may help you. Possessive Adjectives SpanishDict Grammar

SpanishDict Video Lesson 4.9 Possessive Adjectives

SpanishDict Video Lesson 4.11 Possessive Pronouns

Thanks Pumpkin! I'm not that far yet, but I will go and look at those lessons. - 0095ca4c, Jun 20, 2012

¡De nada Margherite! Good luck! - PumpkinCalabaza, Jun 20, 2012

Answer 3

Mi es adjetivo posesivo y mio es pronombre posesivo. El adjetivo posesivo siempre precede al sustantivo:

Mi hermano = My brother Mi hermana = My sister

El pronombre posesivo sustituye al sustantivo y es acompañado por articulo definido:

Mi coche es rojo----El mio es rojo = My car is red-----Mine is red

En tu ejemplo----Mi hermano, hermano mio--- el pronombre posesivo mio se usa como adjetivo posesivo.El pronombre posesivo, usado como adjetivo posesivo, siempre sigue después el sustantivo.El sustantivo siempre es determinado por el articulo definido:

Mi hermano / El hermano mio = My brother Mi hermana / La hermana mia = My sister Mi coche / el coche mio = My car

El uso del pronombre posesivo en lugar del adjetivo posesivo no esta recomendado

Mi is possessive adjective and mio is possessive pronoun.The possessive adjective always precedes the noun:

Mi hermano = My brother Mi hermana = My sister

The possessive pronoun replaces the noun and is accompanied by definide article:

Mi coche es rojo----El mio es rojo = My car is red-----Mine is red

In your example---Mi hermano, hermano mio---the possessive pronoun mio is used like possessive adjective.The possessive pronoun , used like possessive adjective,always follows after the noun. The noun is determinated by the definite article :

Mi hermano / El hermano mio = My brother Mi hermana / La hermana mia = My sister Mi coche / el coche mio = My car The use of the possessive pronoun in stead of the possessive adjective isn't recommended

Nice! - rogspax, Jun 21, 2012

Yeah, that was intense stuff. I can't say that I got all of it. =p - animo, Jun 22, 2012