Explanation

Spanish possessive adjectives are adjectives that indicate who or what possesses or owns something.

Short-form and Long-form Adjectives

There are two different forms of Spanish possessive adjectives: short-form and long-form adjectives. Let's take a look at each type!

Short-form Possessive Adjectives

Short-form possessive adjectives are the most common way to express possession. They must agree with the noun they describe in gender and number. This doesn't end up being too complicated, because only nosotros and vosotros have distinct masculine and feminine forms.

Remember that these adjectives match the possessed entity in gender and number, not the possessor.

List of Short-form Possessive Adjectives

mi mis mi mis tu tus tu tus su sus su sus su sus su sus nuestro nuestros nuestra nuestras vuestro vuestros vuestra vuestras su sus su sus su sus su sus

Mi is an example of a short-form possessive adjective with only two distinct forms.

mis libros mis bolsas

Nuestro is an example of a short-form possessive adjective with four distinct forms.

nuestro perro nuestros perros nuestra casa nuestras casas our houses

Short-form possessive adjectives are always placed before the noun they modify and are not used with a definite or indefinite article.

Check out these examples of sentences with short-form possessive adjectives.

Mi amigo peruano es guapo. My Peruvian friend is handsome. ¿Dónde están tus libros? Where are your books? ¿Son sus niños? Are they your children? Nuestra casa es muy grande. Our house is very big. Vuestras flores son muy bonitas. Your flowers are very beautiful. Su carro está allá. Their car is over there.

Tricky Cases

In Spanish, possessive adjectives are normally not used when talking about body parts. They're also often not used when talking about abstract concepts or something that it is obvious that only the speaker could possess. Instead, you'll see a definite article used in Spanish, though in English translations a possessive adjective may be used.

Body parts

Me duele el brazo. My arm hurts. Tienes los ojos verdes. Your eyes are green. Don Simón tenía algo en la mirada que hacía a la gente hacer las cosas. Don Simon had something in his eyes that made people do things. La muchacha había perdido la ilusión por los estudios. The girl had lost her enthusiasm for her studies. Me voy a la casa. I’m leaving for (my) home. Se me caen los pantalones. My pants are falling down.

Possessive Prepositional Phrases

Since su be translated so many ways (his, her, formal singular your, their, formal plural your), it is sometimes helpful to use a prepositional phrase with personal pronouns or names instead.

For example, the sentence Atlanta es la capital de Georgia. (Atlanta is the capital of Georgia.) is more explicitly clear than Atlanta es su capital. (Atlanta is its capital.) - Wait, whose capital? His? Hers? Yours? Theirs?

Here's how to form this type of possessive phrase:

Possessive Prepositional Phrase Formula

definite/indefinite article + entity possessed + de + pronoun/name of possessor