How to Use Possessive Adjectives in Spanish

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Possessive adjectives in Spanish are words like “my” (mi) and “our” (nuestro). They connect a noun with its possessor.

Possessive adjectives work a little differently in Spanish compared to English. I’ve put together this guide so you can understand exactly how they work.

In this guide to Spanish possessive adjectives, you’ll learn:

There is a lot to learn, so let’s get started!

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Spanish Possessive Adjectives: What Are They?

What are possessive adjectives in Spanish?

An adjective is a word that describes a noun. Words like rojo (“red”) and delgado (“thin”) are adjectives.

As I mentioned earlier, the role of a possessive adjective in Spanish is to describe ownership. Possessive adjectives specify who or what owns or possesses something.

Here are some examples:

• Traje mi libro – “I brought my book.”
• La hermana suya no vino – “His sister didn’t come.”

There are two types of possessive adjectives in Spanish: short-form and long-form. Short-form possessive adjectives go before the noun they describe. Long-form possessive adjectives go after the noun.

I’ll explain more about each type in a moment.

How Many Possessive Forms Are There in Spanish?

There is no especially useful single number to memorise. Spanish has a short-form set and a long-form set, and several entries change for number or gender.

The short forms are built from mi, tu, su, nuestro and vuestro. The long forms use mío, tuyo, suyo, nuestro and vuestro. Some rows appear more than once in a chart because su and suyo can refer to several possible possessors.

Once you recognise those patterns, apply the number changes and, where the form allows it, the gender changes shown in the charts below.

The important skill is choosing the correct set and making the possessive agree with the noun where required.

You do not need to settle a counting debate before you start using them.

Short-Form Possessive Adjectives in Spanish

Here is the first important bit of information: short-form possessive adjectives in Spanish are the shortest Spanish possessive adjectives. They’re also the most common, so you might have already come across them and perhaps even used them.

In Spanish, they are known as adjetivos posesivos átonos (“atonic possessive adjectives”) or adjetivos posesivos débiles (“weak possessive adjectives”). In English, we also call them “unstressed possessive adjectives”.

Here’s a simple chart to learn short-form Spanish possessive adjectives:

As you can see, short-form possessive adjectives follow the rule of agreement for adjectives in Spanish.

The first rule is about numbers. If the described noun is plural, so is the adjective. Look at mi and mis. Or su and sus.

Spanish has the same rule for adjectives with gender. However, with short-form possessive adjectives, the gender agreement only applies to nuestro/a/os/as and vuestro/a/os/as.

¡Ojo! (“Be careful!”) Spanish adjectives agree in gender and number with the word they describe. With possessive adjectives, this means that the adjective changes according to what is possessed, and not whoever or whatever possesses it.

Examples:

• Dame tus cuadernos – “Give me your notebooks.” (“Your” agrees with “notebooks”.)
• Traje nuestra bicicleta – “I brought our bicycle.” (“Our” agrees with “bicycle”.)
• Marta vio a vuestros primos – “Marta saw your cousins.” (“Your” agrees with “cousins”.)

Long-Form Possessive Adjectives in Spanish

If you’ve already studied Spanish for some time, you might have come across sentences using long-form possessive adjectives.

In Spanish, they’re known as adjetivos posesivos tónicos (“tonic possessive adjectives”) or adjetivos posesivos fuertes (“strong possessive adjectives”). They are less common than short-form possessive adjectives. In English, we also call them “stressed possessive adjectives”.

Here’s a simple chart to learn Spanish long-form possessive adjectives:

As you’ve learnt earlier in the post, long-form possessive adjectives in Spanish go after the noun they describe.

Examples:

• Son primos nuestros. – “They’re cousins of ours.” Or “They’re our cousins.”
• La amiga suya está llegando – “The friend of hers is coming.” Or “Her friend is coming.”
• Es problema tuyo. – “It’s a problem of yours.” Or “It’s your problem.”

They are known as “stressed” because they bear lexical stress, unlike short-form possessives. In some contexts, they can also emphasise or contrast the possessor.

Remember that su and suyo can mean “his”, “her”, formal “your” or “their”. Context often makes the possessor clear. When it does not, Spanish can use a phrase with de, such as el libro de ella (“her book”).

Besides Spanish Possessive Adjectives: Other Ways to Indicate Possession in Spanish

There are two other ways to indicate possession in Spanish: using the preposition de and using possessive pronouns.

A phrase with de often corresponds to an English phrase with “of” or the possessive apostrophe and “s”.

Example: La bicicleta de Marta. (“Marta’s bicycle.”)

Possessive pronouns in Spanish look exactly like long-form possessive adjectives. Take a look at this chart:

So how can you tell the difference between the two?

First of all, they have different grammatical roles. Just as an adjective describes a word, a pronoun replaces a word or a phrase in a sentence. This word or phrase has usually already been mentioned or is implied.

Secondly, possessives used as noun phrases usually follow a definite article; when used as an attribute, as in El libro es mío, they don't. “The” is the English definite article. In Spanish, “the” translates to el, la, los, las.

Examples:

• Si olvidaste tu lápiz, usa el nuestro. – “If you forgot your pencil, use ours.”
• No sé cuál es la casa de Marta. La mía es la azul. – “I don't know which house is Marta’s. Mine is the blue one.”

How to Practise Spanish Possessive Adjectives

There is no single best exercise for everybody, but practice matters. As I often say, mistakes make the best masters.

Here’s how to learn possessive adjectives in Spanish:

Create a list of possessive adjectives in Spanish. Practise by building sentences that include both short-form and long-form possessives.

Say the sentences aloud from the beginning. Then change the noun or possessor and adjust the possessive form.

A paid tutor on Preply can give you personalised feedback; our Preply review is here. You could also practise simulated exchanges with Teacher AI.

You can also cover one side of the charts above and quiz yourself, then write one sentence for each answer you missed.

Some Example Spanish Sentences With Possessive Adjectives

Here are some Spanish sentences with possessive adjectives:

• Me gusta mi vecindario. → short-form – “I like my neighborhood.”
• El libro mío está dañado. → long-form – “My book is damaged.”
• Aquí están tus amigas. → short-form – “Here are your friends.”
• Las manzanas tuyas son muy buenas.→ long-form – “Your apples are very good.”
• Señor García, su almuerzo está listo. → short-form – “Mr García, your lunch is ready.”
• Los hijos suyos estudian muy bien. → long-form – “Your children study very well.”
• Amelia no sabe si sus padres vendrán. → short-form – “Amelia doesn’t know if her parents will come.”
• Rompí nuestra bicicleta. → short-form – “I broke our bicycle.”
• El coche nuestro es azul. → long-form – “Our car is blue.”
• Nuestros primos no se fueron. → short-form – “Our cousins didn’t go.”
• Vuestras camisas están manchadas. → short-form – “Your shirts are stained.”
• El cuaderno vuestro lo tiene Marcos. → long-form – “Marcos has your notebook.”
• Sus perros son muy tiernos. → short-form – “Their dogs are really cute.”

Keep Practising Spanish Possessive Adjectives

You now have the patterns you need to recognise and practise Spanish possessive adjectives. Return to the charts when a form feels uncertain, and pay attention to the noun it agrees with.

For more help with speaking Spanish, you can learn about Spanish reflexive verbs. I also recommend learning the 101 core Spanish words.

If you’d like a structured speaking goal, take a look at the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge.

¡Nos vemos en otra aventura! (“See you on another adventure!”)