Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns show who owns something and they replace noun phrases to avoid repetition. This guide goes over the key forms and gives quick examples.
Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns stand in for a noun and show ownership, so they agree in gender and number with the thing possessed.
| English Word(s) | Spanish Word(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| mine | mío / mía / míos / mías | agrees with thing possessed |
| yours (informal) | tuyo / tuya / tuyos / tuyas | |
| yours (formal) | suyo / suya / suyos / suyas | can also refer to theirs |
| his | suyo / suya / suyos / suyas | same form as suyo |
| hers | suya / suya / suyas / suyas | same form as suyo |
| ours | nuestro / nuestra / nuestros / nuestras | agrees with thing possessed |
| theirs | suyo / suya / suyos / suyas | same form as suyo |
| English Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🏠 This house is mine. | It belongs to me. |
| 🏡 That house is yours. | It belongs to you. |
| 🏘️ His house is on the corner. | It belongs to him. |
| 🏚️ Her house has a red door. | It belongs to her. |
| 🏠 Its roof is very steep. | The roof of the house is steep. |
| 🏢 Ours is the big white house. | It belongs to us. |
| 🏘️ Theirs has a lovely garden. | It belongs to them. |
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Short Forms
Short forms like mi and tu come before nouns and do not change to agree, while possessive pronouns like mío and tuyo agree and can stand alone.
| Type | English Word(s) | Spanish Word(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short adjective | my | mi | goes before noun |
| Short adjective | your (informal) | tu | goes before noun |
| Short adjective | his/her/your (formal)/their | su | goes before noun |
| Long pronoun | mine | mío / mía / míos / mías | agrees and can stand alone |
| Long pronoun | yours (informal) | tuyo / tuya / tuyos / tuyas | agrees and can stand alone |
| Long pronoun | his/hers/yours (formal)/theirs | suyo / suya / suyos / suyas | agrees and can stand alone |
| Short adjective | our | nuestro / nuestra / nuestros / nuestras | goes before noun |
| Long pronoun | ours | nuestro / nuestra / nuestros / nuestras | agrees and can stand alone |
| English Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🏠 That book is mine. | It’s mine. |
| 📘 Is this notebook yours? | Is it yours? |
| 📗 The pen is his. | It’s his. |
| 📕 The wallet is hers. | It’s hers. |
| 🐾 The collar is its. | It’s its. |
| 📚 The keys are ours. | They’re ours. |
| 🎒 The bag is theirs. | It’s theirs. |
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Usage
Use short possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su) before a noun to show ownership clearly. Use long possessive pronouns (mío, tuyo, suyo) to emphasize possession or to replace a noun phrase.
| English Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🧍 This jacket is mine. | I own this jacket. |
| 🧍♂️ That scarf is yours. | You own that scarf. |
| 🧑🦱 His hat is on the table. | The hat belongs to him. |
| 🧑🦰 Her gloves are in the bag. | The gloves belong to her. |
| 🐶 Its leash is by the door. | The leash belongs to the dog. |
| 👩👩👦 Our car is parked outside. | The car belongs to us. |
| 🧑🌾 Their bicycles are new. | The bicycles belong to them. |
| 🙅 This is not my coat. | It does not belong to me. |
| 🙋 That is your umbrella. | It belongs to you. |
| 🧍♂️ He said it was his. | He said it belonged to him. |
| 🧑 She thinks it’s hers. | She thinks it belongs to her. |
| 🐱 The cat cleaned its paw. | The paw belongs to the cat. |
| 🧑🤝🧑 We made this painting ours. | We claimed ownership. |
| 🧑🚴 They found their keys. | They found keys that belong to them. |
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Summary
Possessive pronouns such as mío and tuyo agree in gender and number with the thing possessed and can stand alone, while short forms like mi and tu go before nouns and do not change.
Last updated: Sun Sep 14, 2025