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Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives are used to show ownership.

mi libro
my book

tu pluma
your pen

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There are five possessive adjectives.

mi
tu
su

nuestro
vuestro

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Three possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su) have only two forms, singular and plural.

mi
mis

tu
tus

su
sus

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Possessive adjectives agree with the nouns they modify. That is, they agree with the thing possessed, not the possessor.

mi libro
my book

mis libros
my books

tu pluma
your pen

tus plumas
your pens

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Mi, tu and su do not have masculine and feminine forms. They stay the same, regardless of the gender of the nouns they modify.

mi amigo
mi amiga

tus hermanos
tus hermanas

su libro
sus plumas

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Mi means "my" ; tu means "your."

Mi casa es tu casa.
My house is your house.

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Su, like tu, can mean "your." The difference between your (tu) and your (su) lies in the degree of formality the speaker wishes to convey.

Mi casa es tu casa.
(speaking to someone you would address as "tú")

Mi casa es su casa.
(speaking to someone you would address as "usted")

Note: The two words "tu" and "tú" are pronounced the same. Tú (with the written accent) is the subject pronoun meaning "you" (informal). Tu (without the written accent) is the possessive adjective meaning "your" (informal).

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Su has four meanings: his, her, their and your (formal).

María busca a su hermana.
María is looking for her sister.

Juan busca a su hermana.
Juan is looking for his sister.

Ellos buscan a su hermana.
They are looking for their sister.

Su madre busca a su hermana.
Your mother is looking for your sister.

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If the meaning of su is not clear from the context of the sentence, a prepositional phrase is used in place of su.

María busca a la hermana de él.
María looks for his sister.

El hombre busca las llaves de ella.
The man looks for her keys.

María busca el cuaderno de Juan.
María looks for Juan's notebook.

El hombre busca las llaves de Samanta.
The man looks for Samanta's keys.

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Two possessive adjectives (nuestro and vuestro) have four forms.

nuestro
nuestra
nuestros
nuestras

vuestro
vuestra
vuestros
vuestras

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Nuestro means "our."

nuestro hermano
our brother

nuestra hermana
our sister

nuestros hermanos
our brothers

nuestras hermanas
our sisters

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Vuestro means "your" (familiar, plural). Like vosotros, vuestro is primarily used in Spain.

vuestro libro
your book

vuestra pluma
your pen

vuestros libros
your books

vuestras plumas
your pens

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Here are all of the possessive adjectives:

mi(s)
my

tu(s)
your (fam. sing.)

su(s)
his, her, your (formal), their

nuestro(-a, -os, -as)
our

vuestro(-a, -os, -as)
your (fam. pl.)

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Note that these possessive adjectives are not used with articles of clothing or body parts. Rather, the definite article is used.

Me gusta el vestido nuevo.
I like my new dress

Me duele el brazo.
My arm hurts.

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