Possessives

Possessives

Short Form: Adjectives Long Form: Adjectives and Pronouns
Singular Plural Singular Plural
mi mis mío(a) míos(as)
tu tus tuyo(a) tuyos(as)
su sus suyo(a) suyos(as)
nuestro(a) nuestros(as) nuestro(a) nuestros(as)
vuestro(a) vuestros(as) vuestro(a) vuestros(as)
su sus suyo(a) suyos(as)

Possessives agree with the noun they qualify in gender and number:
Tu familia es de Perú; la mía, de Chile. Your family is from Perú; mine is from Chile.
Nuestros padres conocen a las vecinas tuyas. Our parents know your neighbor ladies.
Short forms are used more frequently and precede the noun: tus amigas.
Long forms, used for emphasis or contrast, follow the noun which is preceded by the article:
Dicen que el amor es solo un sueño nuestro. They say love is only a dream of ours.

The forms su, sus, suyo(a), suyos(as) have multiple meanings. This means that one cannot distinguish except by context between his book, hers or theirs. To clarify the meaning, it is necessary to use phrases such as el libro de él, de ellas, de usted, etc.:
La familia de él, como la de ustedes, vive en Roma. His family, like yours, lives in Rome.

Possessive pronouns replace a possessive adjective + noun: mi casa => la mía. They use the long forms, and are generally accompanied by the definite article:
Mi familia vive en Madrid. ¿Y la tuya? My family lives in Madrid. And yours?
La mía vive cerca de Toledo. Mine lives near Toledo.

The article can be omitted after the verb ser: Esta pintura es mía. • Esta casa no es nuestra.