You are probably already familiar with tonic or stressed possessive determiners. They are placed after the subject and indicate some level of possession. If you need a refresher, click here.
Spanish
English
Me encontré a un amigo tuyo.
I ran into a friend of yours.
When we talk about possession, we may mean that someone owns an object, but this is not always the case. Possessive determiners can also refer to people related to you, such as family, friends, and partners.
Therefore, tonic possessive determiners tend to express information about someone related to another person. These determiners can be used in constructions that appear consistently — in other words, that appear in chunks — while making a few adjustments, which makes it easier to know how and when to use them.
Here is the construction:
| determiner + | noun + | tonic possessive determiner |
| determiner + | noun + | tonic possessive determiner |
Let us show you to use it with all six possessive determiners.
When the Owner Is the First Person Singular (yo)
Rule 1. When the person being spoken about is related to the first person (yo), you can use any of the following options.
- For feminine nouns, singular or plural, use:
un(as) + (feminine noun) + mía(s)
Spanish
English
Una prima mía practica yoga.
A cousin of mine practices yoga.
- For masculine nouns, singular or plural, use:
un(os) + (masculine noun) + mío(s)
Spanish
English
Un tío mío es abogado.
An uncle of mine is a lawyer.
When the Owner Is the Second Person Singular (tú)
Rule 2. When the person being spoken about is related to the second person (tú), you can use any of the following options.
- For feminine nouns, singular or plural, use:
un(as) + (feminine noun) + tuya(s)
Spanish
English
¿Una prima tuya es abogada?
Is your cousin a lawyer?
- For masculine nouns, singular or plural, use:
un(os) + (masculine noun) + tuyo(s)
Spanish
English
Me encontré a un amigo tuyo.
I ran into a friend of yours.
As you can see from the examples, the phrase can be used in questions and can be placed at the end or the beginning of a sentence.
When the Owner Is the Third Person Singular (él, ella, usted)
Rule 3. When the person being spoken about is related to any of the third person singular (él, ella, usted), you can use any of the following options:
- For feminine nouns, singular or plural, use:
un(as) + (feminine noun) + suya(s)
Spanish
English
Una tía suya es profesora de idiomas.
An aunt of his is a language teacher.
- For masculine nouns, singular or plural, use:
un(os) + (masculine noun) + suyo(s)
Spanish
English
Unos conocidos suyos practican béisbol.
Some of his acquaintances play baseball.
When the Owner Is the First Person Plural (nosotros, nosotras)
Rule 4. When the person being spoken about is related to the first person plural (nosotros, nosotras), you will use any of the following options.
- For feminine nouns, singular or plural, use:
un(as) + (feminine noun) + nuestra(s)
Spanish
English
Unas primas nuestras hablan alemán.
Some of our cousins speak German.
- For masculine nouns, singular or plural, use:
un(os) + (masculine noun) + nuestro(s)
Spanish
English
Un amigo nuestro conoce a Leslie.
A friend of ours knows Leslie.
When the Owner Is the Second Person Plural (vosotros, vosotras)
Rule 5. When the object being spoken about is related to the third person plural (vosotros, vosotras), you will use any of the following options.
- For feminine nouns, singular or plural, use:
un(as) + (feminine noun) + vuestra(s)
Spanish
English
¿Es cierto que una amiga vuestra es colombiana?
Is it true that a friend of yours is Colombian?
- For masculine nouns, singular or plural, use:
un(os) + (masculine noun) + vuestro(s)
Spanish
English
Unos vecinos vuestros son conocidos de mi mamá.
Some of your neighbors are acquaintances of my mother.
When the Owner Is the Third Person Plural (ellos, ellas, ustedes)
Rule 6. When the person being spoken about is related to the third person plural (ellos, ellas, ustedes), you will use any of the following options.
- For feminine nouns, singular or plural, use:
un(as) + (feminine noun) + suya(s)
Spanish
English
Una tía suya es profesora de idiomas.
An aunt of his is a language teacher.
- For masculine nouns, singular or plural, use:
un(os) + (masculine noun) + suyo(s)
Spanish
English
Unos conocidos suyos practican béisbol.
Some of his acquaintances play baseball.
Quiz
1/3
Una prima ____ conoce a mi hermano. (de ella)
0
correct answers.