Spanish possessives · mi, tu, suWhose is this?

There's no apostrophe-s

In English you say "Uriel's house". Spanish has no 's. Instead, you turn it around and use de (of): "the house of Uriel".

De + el becomes del: el libro del maestro, never de el maestro.

Whose is it?

• Es la casa de Uriel.It's Uriel's house.
• Es el carro de mi hermana.It's my sister's car.
• ¿De quién es esto?Whose is this?
• Es de Ana.It's Ana's.

Mi, tu, su

For "my", "your" and the rest, Spanish has short words that go before the noun:

Here's the key: these words match the thing, not the owner. Mis hermanos has an s because there are many brothers, not because there are many of me.

My, your, our

• Mi casa es tu casa.My house is your house.
• Mis papás viven en Texas.My parents live in Texas.
• ¿Dónde están tus llaves?Where are your keys?
• Tu familia es muy simpática.Your family is really nice.
• Nuestra casa es pequeña.Our house is small.
• Nuestros hijos hablan español.Our kids speak Spanish.

Nuestro is the only one with a feminine form: nuestro perro, nuestra casa. Again, it's about the thing: a man and a woman talking about their house still say nuestra casa.

Su: his, her, your, their

Su is a busy word. It can mean his, her, its, your (usted), their and your (ustedes). Usually the conversation makes it clear:

Ana vive con su mamá. (Ana lives with her mom.)

When it's not clear, swap su for the thing + de + the person:

✍️ Quick check

0/3

1. 1.___ hermanos viven en Chicago. (My brothers live in Chicago.)

   MiMisMío

2. 2.How do you say "Diego's dog"?

   Diego's perroel perro de Diegoel Diego perro

3. 3.___ casa es muy bonita. (Our house is really pretty.)

   NuestroNuestraNuestros

Mío and tuyo: mine and yours

In the last class you saw Este libro es mío; ese es tuyo. When the word comes after the verb, or stands alone, use the long forms:

They match the thing too: la casa es mía, los libros son tuyos, las llaves son mías.

Mine, yours

• Este libro es mío.This book is mine.
• ¿Es tuyo?Is it yours?
• Sí, es mío.Yes, it's mine.
• La casa es mía.The house is mine.
• Las llaves son tuyas.The keys are yours.

Common mistakes

• ✗Es Uriel's casa.

  ✓Es la casa de Uriel.

  No 's in Spanish: use de.

• ✗Mi hermanos son altos.

  ✓Mis hermanos son altos.

  Many brothers, so mis.

• ✗Nuestro casa es grande.

  ✓Nuestra casa es grande.

  Nuestra matches casa, not the people who own it.

• ✗¿Dónde está tú carro?

  ✓¿Dónde está tu carro?

  "Your" has no accent. Tú is "you".

• ✗El libro es mi.

  ✓El libro es mío.

  After the verb, use the long form: mío.

• ✗El libro de el maestro.

  ✓El libro del maestro.

  De + el always becomes del.

Put it together

Here's the sentence from class:

Mi casa es tu casa.

• Mi: my, one house
• tu: your, no accent, because it's "your" and not "you"

In Mexico this isn't just a nice saying. People say it when you walk into their home, and they mean it: sit down, eat something, stay as long as you want. The polite answer is Gracias, muy amable (thank you, that's very kind).

Here's what that sounds like:

1. ¡Hola! Pásale, mi casa es tu casa.

   Hi! Come in, my house is your house.

2. Gracias, muy amable. ¡Qué bonita es tu casa!

   Thank you, that's very kind. Your house is so pretty!

3. Gracias. Mira, ellos son mis papás.

   Thanks. Look, these are my parents.

4. Mucho gusto. ¿Y ese perro? ¿Es tuyo?

   Nice to meet you. And that dog? Is it yours?

5. No, es de mis vecinos. Nuestro perro es el chiquito.

   No, it's my neighbors'. Our dog is the little one.

6. ¿Y esa chamarra? ¿Es de tu hermano?

   And that jacket? Is it your brother's?

7. No, es mía. ¿Quieres un café?

   No, it's mine. Do you want a coffee?

Pásale is how Mexicans say "come in". You'll hear it at every door and every shop.

Now make it yours: describe your family and your stuff in five sentences, with mi, mis, nuestro and de: Mi hermana se llama… El carro de mi papá es…

Test yourself

✍️ Six quick questions

0/6

1. 1.¿Dónde están ___ llaves? (Where are your keys?)

   tutustú

2. 2.How do you say "my mom's house"?

   mi mamá's casala casa de mi mamála mi mamá casa

3. 3.¿Es tuyo? — Sí, es ___.

   mimíomía

4. 4.___ hijos hablan inglés y español. (Our kids speak English and Spanish.)

   NuestroNuestrasNuestros

5. 5.Ana vive con su mamá. Here su means…

   herhistheir

6. 6.Someone says Mi casa es tu casa as you walk in. You answer…

   Gracias, muy amable.Sí, es mía.De nada.

All the forms

Possessives: the full chart

	Before the noun	Plural	After the verb / alone
yo	mi	mis	mío, mía, míos, mías
tú	tu	tus	tuyo, tuya, tuyos, tuyas
él / ella / usted	su	sus	suyo, suya, suyos, suyas
nosotros	nuestro, nuestra	nuestros, nuestras	nuestro, nuestra, nuestros, nuestras
ellos / ustedes	su	sus	suyo, suya, suyos, suyas

Every form matches the thing that's owned, not the owner. We teach Mexican Spanish, so there's no vuestro.