In Spanish, possessive pronouns play a crucial role in replacing nouns to avoid repetition and to indicate ownership or possession. Unlike possessive adjectives, which modify the noun they precede, possessive pronouns substitute the noun entirely.
Spanish
English
Aquel auto es mío.
That car is mine.
How to Conjugate Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns, in contrast with possessive adjectives, do not modify the noun but instead substitute it in order to avoid repetition.
Spanish
English
yo
mío(s), mía(s)
tú
tuyo(s), tuya(s)
él, ella, usted
suyo(s), suya(s)
nosotros-as
nuestro(s), nuestra(s)
vosotros-as
vuestro(s), vuestra(s)
ellos-as
suyo(s), suya(s)
Let's have a look at an example:
Spanish
English
¿Este es tu libro? Sí, es el mío.
Is this your book? Yes, it is mine.
In addition to replacing the noun, possessive pronouns require the inclusion of a definite article. This distinguishes them from possessive adjectives, which do not require an article.
The definite article used depends on the gender and number of the noun being substituted.
- For masculine singular nouns, "el" is used (e.g., el mío, el tuyo).
- For feminine singular nouns, "la" is used (e.g., la mía, la tuya).
- In the plural form, "los" is used for masculine plural nouns (e.g., los míos, los tuyos), and "las" is used for feminine plural nouns (e.g., las mías, las tuyas).
Noun - Pronoun Agreement
Furthermore, possessive pronouns must agree in gender and number with the noun they represent. If the noun is masculine singular, the possessive pronoun must also be masculine singular.
Likewise, if the noun is feminine plural, the possessive pronoun must be feminine plural. This agreement helps maintain grammatical concordance in the sentence.
Spanish
English
El auto de allá es tuyo.
That car is yours.
Esa cartera es mía.
That bag is mine.
Quiz
1/3
What's the correct pronoun in this sentence?
El libro es __________ (yours).
0
correct answers.