Unidad 5: En la comunidad
1. Expresando posesiones: Adjetivos posesivos cortos, largos y preposición “de”
There are a few ways to express possession or describe to whom or what something pertains. Remember in Spanish, we do not use “ ’s” to show possession but rather the object is of the person as in some of the examples above “el arte de Pablo Picasso” or “al profesor de inglés.
| Possessive expression in Spanish | Definition | Placement | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| De | Of /from | Object of the possession
|
El libro es de Marisa*. El libro es de la profesora*. El libro es de él. |
*Notice proper names don’t need the article “de Marisa”, common names need the article “de la profesora”.
We can use the preposition “de” with all the personal pronouns except with “yo” and “tú”. Below we will study other options to express possession accurately.
We have also used throughout your studies other forms of possession called possessive adjectives = adjetivos posesivos. You know them in terms of “mi nombre”, “tu número de teléfono”, “su dirección” or “nuestra casa”, “vuestra familia”, “sus profesiones”, “nuestra clase”, etc.
Like subject pronouns, possessive adjectives are identified according to the person they represent:
| Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| First person | my | First person | our |
| Second person | your | Second person | your |
| Third person | his, her, your | Third person | their/your |
A possessive adjective identifies the possessor, instead of the objects possessed:
Is that Pedro’s car? Yes, it is his car.
Is that Mercedes’s car? Yes, it is her car.
In Spanish we have two sets of possessive adjectives: stressed and unstressed, also known as short and long possessive adjectives. Let’s start with the short ones, because they are very common. The difference in Spanish is that possessive adjectives not only identify the possessor as in English, but also need to agree with the number of the possessed noun (possession), as do all Spanish adjectives.
Mi nombre es María
Possesor = YO
Possesion = nombre
Número = singular
Adjetivo posesivo = mi
Verbo Ser = singular
Mis nombres son José María
Possesor = YO
Possesion = nombres
Número = plural
Adjetivo posesivo = mis
Verbo Ser = plural
Adjetivos posesivos cortos: Need to agree with the number of the possession, except the plural of the first and second person. In these persons, the possessive adjectives need to agree in number (singular) and in gender (masculine/feminine).
| Possesor | Gender | Possession singular | Possession plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| My | mi | mis | |
| Your (tú form) | tu | tus | |
| His,her, your (usted form) | su | sus | |
| su | sus | ||
| Our | Masculine | nuestro | nuestros |
| Feminine | nuestra | nuestras | |
| Your (vosotros/as form) | Masculine | vuestro | vuestros |
| Feminine | vuestra | vuestras | |
| Their, your (ustedes form) | su | sus |
Possessor : Josefina. Possession: libro (singular y masculine)
Josefina tiene mi libro. à Josefina has my book.
Josefina tiene tu libro. à Josefina has your book.
Josefina tiene su libro. à Josefina has her (his, your, their) book.
Josefina tiene nuestro libro. à Josefina has our book.à nuestro possessor 1st person plural
nuestro (possession singular y masculine) = libro
What happens if the possessions are some novels à novelas plural y femenino
Josefina tiene mis novelas. à Josefina has my novels.
Josefina tiene tus novelas. à Josefina has your novels.
Josefina tiene sus novelas. à Josefina has her (his,your,their) novels.
Josefina tiene nuestras novelas. à Josefina has our novels. à nuestras possessor 1st person plural.
nuestras possession plural y femenino=novelas
Keeping in mind that the possessive adjectives agree with the possession and not the subject of the sentence necessarily, use the table and follow the logic of the examples above to complete the following examples:
Possessor: Josefina. Possession: libros ( plural y masculine )
Josefina tiene _______ libros. à Josefina has my books.
Josefina tiene _______ libros. à Josefina has your books (tú form).
Josefina tiene _______ libros. à Josefina has her (his, your, their) books.
Josefina tiene _______ libros. à Josefina has our books.
Josefina tiene _______ libros. à Josefina has your (vosotros form).
Josefina tiene _______ libros. à Josefina has their books.
It’s very important that you pay attention to the placement of the possessive short adjectives!
| Possessive Adjectives | |
|---|---|
| Mi/mis | My |
| Tu/tus | Your |
| Su/sus | His, her, your |
| Nuestro (a) (os) (as) | Our |
| Vuestro (a) (os) (as) | Your (Spain) |
| Su/sus | Their, your |
Before the noun:
- Es mi libro.
- ¿Tienes tus cuadernos?
- ¿Cuál es su nombre?
- Nuestras clases son divertidas.
- Vuestros estudiantes son inteligentes.
- Sus amigos son simpáticos.
We already studied the orthographic stress; with this knowledge in mind, we would like you to identify which is the correct sentence and why?
¿Es mi libro? or ¿Es mí libro? _________________________________
¿Tienes tu cuaderno? Or ¿Tienes tú cuaderno? ____________________
If you don’t know the difference review “el acento diacrítico” in unit 2.
Now analyze the next sentences and write the three possible possessors.
Su coche es nuevo. Who is the possessor? ________________
Su casa es vieja. Who is the possessor? ________________
Sus libros son caros. Who is the possessor? ________________
Because the possessive adjective “su/sus” has many meanings, we prefer to use the possessive expression that we studied above “DE” and a reference to the owner by name or pronoun.
Su coche es nuevo. à El coche de ella es nuevo.
Su casa es vieja. à La casa de él es vieja.
Sus libros son caros. à Los libros de usted son caros.
Remember:
- Possessive adjectives are identified according to the person they represent
- Short possessive adjectives are placed before the noun.
- Short possessive adjectives need to agree with the possession (noun) not with the possessor
Agreguemos: In Spanish we have another set of possessive adjectives called stressed or long possessive adjectives. They are used to add emphasis to the possessor and correspond to the English “of mine”, “of yours”, etc. One of the differences is that the long possessive adjectives have four forms to agree in gender and number for each person. Singular-masculine, singular-feminine, plural-masculine, plural-feminine. As with the short possessive adjectives, the gender and the number agree with the possession (noun possessed).
The next chart deals with possessive long or stressed possessives. You learned much about stress in Spanish already so this application will be easy for you.
| Possessive adjectives in Spanish | Definition | Placement | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mío(s) / mía(s) | My, of mine | After an object to show more emphasis than the possessive adjectives noted above. | El libro es mío. à It’s my book. |
| Tuyo(s) / tuya(s) | your | La casa es tuya. à It’s your house. | |
| Suyo(s) / suya(s) | His, her, your | Your tone will indicate the difference when using the nuestro and vuestro forms. | La novela es suya. à It’s her novel. |
| Nuestro(s) / nuestra(s) | Our | La comida es nuestra. à It is ours. | |
| Vuestro(s) / vuestra(s) | Your (Spain) | No es vuestra. à No, it’s yours. | |
| Suyo(s) / suya(s) | Their, your | Los exámenes son suyos. à The exams are yours. |
Hay un dicho: Mi casa, es su casa. Ahora con los adjetivos largos: la casa mía, es la casa suya.
Notice: the different structures if we use the preposition “de” to express possession, the short possessive adjectives or the long possessive adjectives.
Artículo + Posesión + verbo ser (singular/plural) + de + possessor à El coche es de Juan.
Verbo ser (singular/plural) + posesivo corto + posesión à Es su coche
Artículo + Posesión + verbo ser (singular/plural) + posesivo largo à El coche es suyo.
As you remember, the possessive adjectives for the third persons are ambiguous; we don’t know who the possessor really is: she, he or you (formal). Then, it is better to use the preposition de to clarify:
La casa es suya. or Es su casa. à La casa es de ella.
El coche es suyo. or Es su coche. à El coche es de él.
Las novelas son suyas. or Son sus novelas. à Las novelas son de usted.
Los libros son suyos. or Son sus libros. à Los libros son de ellos.
Also we can use a proper name: La lámpara es de Beth. Here we are being very specific!
We can use the preposition “de” with all the personal pronouns except with “yo” and “tú”.
La cama es nuestra . or Es nuestra cama. à La cama es de nosotros.
El gato es vuestro. or Es vuestro gato. à El gato es de vosotros.
La novelas son suyas. or Son sus novelas. à Las novelas son de usted.
But NEVER: La silla es de tú or la mesa es de yo. ¡NUNCA!–>NEVER
¡Practiquemos!
Here you have a possession and a possessor, you need to write one sentence using the short possessive adjectives, one sentence using the long possessive adjectives and one more using the preposition “de”. Pay attention to the gender and number of the objects and use the correct article as you need it.
Example:
Possession: televisiones. Possessor: Juan y Paco.
a) Las televisiones son suyas. b) Son sus televisiones. c) Las televisiones son de ellos (Juan y Paco).
2. Possession: dormitorio. Possessor: nosotras.
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3. Possession: espejo. Possessor: mi mamá.
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4. Possession: basura. Possessor: vosotros.
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5. Possession: microondas. Possessor: El Doctor Pérez.
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6. Possession: secador. Possessor: yo.
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7. Possession: oficina. Possessor: el director y la secretaria.
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8. Possession: perro. Possessor: tú.
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9. Possession: boda. Possessor: mi novia y yo.
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10. Possession: bolígrafo. Possessor: tu hermana
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