The full table
Short forms and long forms side by side
Short forms go before the noun. Long forms go after the noun or after ser, and always agree in gender and number. Tap a row to hear it.
| Owner | Short · singular | Short · plural | Long · mine, yours… |
|---|---|---|---|
| yomy · mine | mi | mis | mío, mía, míos, mías |
| túyour · yours | tu | tus | tuyo, tuya, tuyos, tuyas |
| él, ella, ustedhis, her, your · his, hers, yours | su | sus | suyo, suya, suyos, suyas |
| nosotrosour · ours | nuestro, nuestra | nuestros, nuestras | nuestro, nuestra, nuestros, nuestras |
| vosotrosyour · yours | vuestro, vuestra | vuestros, vuestras | vuestro, vuestra, vuestros, vuestras |
| ellos, ellas, ustedestheir, your · theirs, yours | su | sus | suyo, suya, suyos, suyas |
Clearing up su
Su casa: whose house?
Su has five possible owners. Context usually decides; when it doesn’t, replace it with el / la … de + the person.
Possessive pronouns
El mío, la tuya, los nuestros
Put el, la, los, las before the long form and it replaces the noun entirely: “mine”, “yours”. The article and the ending match the thing.
Mi cochemy caresisrojo;redel tuyothe yoursesisazul.blue
Estathisno esisn’tmi taza;my cupla míathe mineesisblanca.white
Vuestros hijosyour childrenyandlos nuestrosthe oursjueganplayjuntos.together
Un amigoa friendmíoof-minevivelivesen Sevilla.in Seville
Fixed phrases
¡Dios mío!, a mi manera, lo mío
No possessive with body parts and clothes
Me duele la cabeza
Spanish uses el, la, not mi, when it is clear whose body or clothes you mean.
Painmeh DWEH-leh lah kah-BEH-thah · “I have a headache.”Why: me already says whose head: la, not mi.
Me dueleme hurtsla cabeza.the head
Washingmeh LAH-boh lahs MAH-nohs · “I wash my hands.”Why: The reflexive me shows whose hands.
Me lavomyself I-washlas manos.the hands
ClothesPON-teh el ah-BREE-goh · “Put your coat on.”Why: te shows it is your coat.
Ponteput-yourselfel abrigo.the coat
Breakingseh rrom-PYOH lah PYEHR-nah · “He broke his leg.”Why: se + la pierna.
Se rompióhimself brokela pierna.the leg
“A friend of mine”
Un amigo mío, unos primos tuyos
English says “a friend of mine”; Spanish puts the long possessive after the noun: un amigo mío. It agrees with the noun, like an adjective.
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