Possessive Adjectives

Adjetivos posesivos

Showing Possession

In Spanish there are NO apostrophes!

You cannot say, for example,

Jorge’s dog (using an apostrophe s)

Showing Posession

You must say, “The dog of Jorge”

In Spanish,“El perro de Jorge”

Object + DE + Owner

This concept of showing possession is using the formula:

object + DE + owner For example:

El perro de Jorge

Object + De + owner

Tengo el cuaderno de Felipe. (I have Felipe’s notebook)

La hermana de Maria es amable. (Maria’s sister is nice.)

Don’t forget – DE + EL = DELThe boy’s mom = la madre DEL chico

You try it! Práctica A: Translate these

to Spanish.Ex. the girl’s cat = the cat of the girl

=El gato de la chica

1. The boy’s dog2. The uncle’s wife3. The cousin’s parents4. Roberto’s grandparents5. Juana’s aunt

Possessive Adjectives

Adjectives DESCRIBE nouns, correct?

Well, they can also show possession.

Possessive AdjectivesHere are the possessive adjectives in English:

my ouryour his / her theirits

Posessive Adjectives

For example: “my dog, your house, his notebook, etc.”

We don’t have to keep repeating the person over and over!

Posessive Adjectivessingular

mi / mis (my)

tu / tus (your)

su / sus (his,her)

or (your formal)

pluralnuestro a, os, as

(our)

vuestro, a, os, as (your

informal)su / sus

(their) or (your

formal)

Note: TU does NOT have an accent mark!

Make a GRAMMAR CARD for these! (lined side)

Possessive Adjectives Must agree with the OBJECT.

OBJECT is singular, possessive adjective is singular.

OBJECT is plural, possessive adjective is plural.

Do NOT use the articles with the noun: (el, la, los, las, un, una, unos, unas)

Put these notes on the front of the GRAMMAR card.

Possessive AdjectivesSome examples: mi hermano mis

hermanos tu abuela tus abuelas su hijo sus hijos nuestro tío nuestros tíos

nuestra tía nuestras tías

Notice how there are no articles!

Posessive AdjectivesMi prima es alta.

Prima is singular, so MI is too!

Todas mis primas son altas.Primas is plural, so MIS is plural also.

Notice, no ARTICLES!!

You try it! Práctica B: Complete with the correct

possessive adjective.

1. (my) tíos2. (our) abuelos3. (his) primas4. (their) madre5. (your-informal) esposo6. (her) sobrino7. (my) hija8. (our) nieta

**Don’t forget to make the adjective agree with the noun!

Posessive Adjectivesare great to use when answering questions

to eliminate the LONG possessive construction.

¿Son rubios los hermanos de Rafael? (Are Rafael’s brothers blond?)

No, sus hermanos son pelirrojos. (No, his brothers are red-headed.)

Whose “hermanos”? Rafael’s = HIS (so SUS

means his)

SU and SUSSince su and sus can have many meanings, use the long possessive form: (or prepositional phrase) OBJECT + de + OWNER

instead for clarity or emphasis.

Example:Sus pantalones son elegantes.

Whose pants? His? Hers? Yours? Theirs?

To clarify, use the long possessive form: Los pantalones de Rosa son elegantes.

In this case, SUS pantalones = her pants

More examples:

His mother is a doctor. Su madre es médica. La madre de él es médica. (note: don’t combine DE + ÉL because of

the accent mark!)

Their children are daring. Sus hijos son atrevidos. Los hijos de ellos son atrevidos.

Práctica C: You try it!Write the sentences in Spanish using

the possessive adjective and then using the long possessive form.

You will write 2 sentences for each!

Example: Your (Ud.) brothers are tall.Sus hermanos son altos. / Los

hermanos de Ud. Son altos.1. Her cousins are friendly.2. Your (Uds.) uncle is a fireman.3. Their father is bald.4. His sister is generous.