11.4 Stressed possessive adjectives and pronouns

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In contrast to English, Spanish has two types of possessive adjectives: the unstressed (or short) forms you learned in Lección 3 and the stressed (or long) forms.

The stressed possessive adjectives are used for emphasis or to express the English phrases of mine, of yours, of his, and so on.

11.4 Stressed possessive adjectives and pronouns

Stressed possessive adjectives

Masculine Feminine

mío(s) mía(s) my; (of) mine

tuyo(s) tuya(s) your; (of) yours (fam.)

suyo(s) suya(s) your; (of) yours (form.);

his; (of) his; her; (of) hers; its

nuestro(s) nuestra(s) our; (of) ours

vuestro(s) vuestra(s) your; (of) yours (fam.)

suyo(s) suya(s) your; (of) yours (form.); their; (of) theirs

11.4 Stressed possessive adjectives and pronouns

¡ATENCIÓN!

Used with un/una, these possessives are similar in meaning to the English expression of mine/yours/etc.

Juancho es un amigo mío. Juancho is a friend of mine.

11.4 Stressed possessive adjectives and pronouns

Stressed possessive adjectives must agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify.

su impresora la impresora suya her printer her printer

nuestros televisores los televisores nuestrosour television sets our television sets

11.4 Stressed possessive adjectives and pronouns

Stressed possessive adjectives are placed after the noun they modify, while unstressed possessive adjectives are placed before the noun.

Son mis llaves. They are my keys.

Son las llaves mías. They are my keys.

11.4 Stressed possessive adjectives and pronouns

A definite article, an indefinite article, or a demonstrative adjective usually precedes a noun modified by a stressed possessive adjective.

Me encantan unos discos compactos tuyos. I love some of your CDs.

Me encantan los discos compactos tuyos. I love your CDs.

Me encantan estos discos compactos tuyos. I love these CDs of yours.

11.4 Stressed possessive adjectives and pronouns

Since suyo, suya, suyos, and suyas have more than one meaning, you can avoid confusion by using the construction: [article] + [noun] + de + [subject pronoun].

el teclado suyo

el teclado de él/ella his/her keyboard

el teclado de usted your keyboard

el teclado de ellos/ellas their keyboard

el teclado de ustedes your keyboard

11.4 Stressed possessive adjectives and pronouns

Possessive pronouns are used to replace a noun + [possessive adjective].

In Spanish, the possessive pronouns have the same forms as the stressed possessive adjectives, and they are preceded by a definite article.

la calculadora nuestra la nuestra

el fax tuyo el tuyo

los archivos suyos los suyos

Possessive pronouns

11.4 Stressed possessive adjectives and pronouns

A possessive pronoun agrees in number and gender with the noun it replaces.

—Aquí está mi coche. ¿Dónde está el tuyo?—Here’s my car. Where is yours?

—El mío está en el taller de mi hermano.—Mine is at my brother’s garage.

—¿Tienes las revistas de Carlos? —Do you have Carlos’ magazines?

—No, pero tengo las nuestras.—No, but I have ours.

11.4 Stressed possessive adjectives and pronouns

¡ATENCIÓN!

The definite article (el/la) is usually omitted when a stressed possessive follows the verb ser.

Perdone, ¿pero es suya esta cámara?

No, no es mía.

11.4 Stressed possessive adjectives and pronouns

¡INTÉNTALO! Indica las formas tónicas (stressed) de estos adjetivos posesivos y los pronombres posesivos correspondientes.

adjetivos pronombres

1. su videocasetera ______ ______ 2. mi televisor ______ ______ 3. nuestros discos compactos ______ ______ 4. tus calculadoras ______ ______ 5. su monitor ______ ______ 6. mis videos ______ ______ 7. nuestra impresora ______ ______ 8. tu estéreo ______ ______ 9. nuestro cederrón ______ ______10. mi computadora ______ ______