Possessive Adjectives Expressing Possession

Possessive Adjectives  Possessive adjectives are used to indicate that something belongs to someone or to establish a relationship between people or things.  Éste es mi libro. This is my book, isn’t it?  ¿Gregorio es tu primo?  Gregorio is your cousin?

Possessive Adjectives Sing. Plur. Sing. Plur. Sing. Plur. MyYour(f) His, her, its mi mis mi mis tu tus tu tus su sus su sus nuestro(a) nuestros nuestro(a) nuestros Vuestro(a) vuestros Su sus our ourYourtheir

 Possessive adjectives are placed before the noun they modify.  Ustedes ya conocen a su novia. You already know his fiancée.  Nuestra casa es muy grande. Our house is very large.

 Unlike English, Spanish possessive adjectives agree with what is possessed and not with the possessor. Like other adjectives, possessive adjectives agree in number and gender with the noun they modify.  Él trabaja con sus hijos. He works with his sons.  Ella estudia con tus hijos. She studies with your children.  Ellos salen con su hijo. They go out with their son.

Possession using names  Spanish does not use the apostrophe s (’s) to show possession. Spanish uses the phrase El(la)… de… to show possession.  El padre de Pedro tiene trienta años. – Pedro’s father is 30 years old.  Los hermanos de Lucas tienen quince años. – Lucas’s brothers are 15 years old.

Asking about possession  ¿De quien es …..? Is the expression used to ask Whose is the …..?  It can be answered by saying “Es de…..”  For example:  ¿De quien es la chaqueta?  Es de Marcos.  Or La chaqueta es de Marcos.