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      Possessive Pronouns

      What are possessive pronouns in Spanish grammar? Possessive pronouns show that something belongs to someone. Learn Spanish possessive pronouns usage and find out possessive pronouns types, examples and common mistakes.

      Possessive Pronouns

      Explanation

      Another way to talk about the things we own is by using possessive pronouns, which are equivalent to the English mine, yours, his, hers, ours, and theirs.

      They usually take the place of a noun and are normally used with a definite article.

      el mío/la mía, los míos/las mías mine
      el tuyo/la tuya, los tuyos/las tuyas yours (infml.)
      el suyo/la suya, los suyos/las suyas his, hers, yours (fml.)
      el nuestro/la nuestra, los nuestros/las nuestras ours
      el vuestro/la vuestra, los vuestros/las vuestras yours (infml.)
      el suyo/la suya, los suyos/las suyas theirs, yours (fml.)

      Possessive pronoun agreement:
      Notice that all of the possessive pronouns agree in both gender and number with the nouns they stand in for.

      Example

      Mi cara es redonda y la tuya es larga.
      My face is rounded and yours is long.

      Tu cabello es rubio y el nuestro es negro.
      Your hair is blond and ours is black.

      Vuestros hijos están en Brasil y los suyos en Costa Rica.
      Your children are in Brazil and hers/his/theirs/yours (are) in Costa Rica.

      Common mistakes

      When the possessive pronoun comes after the verb ser, the article is left out.

      La casa grande es mía.

      La casa grande es la mía.

      Possession With de + Pronoun

      Explanation

      A definite article and the preposition de (of) can be used with a subject pronoun in place of the more ambiguous su(s).

      su pierna his/her/their/your leg
      la pierna de él his leg
      la pierna de ella her leg
      la pierna de ellos their leg
      la pierna de ellas their leg
      la pierna de usted your leg
      la pierna de ustedes your leg

      Plural possession:
      In the plural form, simply use the plural feminine or masculine article, depending on the gender of the noun.

      Example

      El cuerpo de ella.
      Her body.

      Las piernas de él.
      His legs.

      Los cuerpos de ustedes.
      Your bodies.

      Common mistakes

      Remember that in Spanish we do not use the possessive adjective with body parts.

      Tengo el pelo muy largo.

      Tengo mi pelo muy largo.

      Free resources about Spanish grammar

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