1. Adjetivos posesivos
Possessive Adjectives

2. Showing Possession
 InSpanish there are NO apostrophes!
 You cannot say, for example,
Jorge’s dog
(using an apostrophe s)

3. Showing Posession
 You must say,
“The dog of Jorge”
 In Spanish,
“El perro de Jorge”

4. Object + DE + Owner
 Thisconcept of showing
possession is using the formula:
object + DE + owner
For example:
El perro de Jorge

5. 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 = DEL
The boy’s mom = la madre DEL chico

6. 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 dog
2. The uncle’s wife
3. The cousin’s parents
4. Roberto’s grandparents
5. Juana’s aunt

7. Possessive Adjectives
 Adjectives DESCRIBE nouns,
correct?
 Well, they can also show
possession.

8. Possessive Adjectives
 Here are the possessive
adjectives in English:
my our
your
his / her their
its

9. Posessive Adjectives
 For example: “my dog, your
house, his notebook, etc.”
 We don’t have to keep repeating
the person over and over!

10. Make a GRAMMAR CARD for these! (lined side)
Posessive Adjectives
singular plural
mi / mis (my) nuestro a, os, as
(our)
tu / tus (your) vuestro, a, os, as
(your informal)
su / sus (his,her) su / sus (their)
or (your formal) or (your formal)
Note: TU does NOT have an accent mark!

11. Put these notes on the front of the GRAMMAR card.
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)

12. Possessive Adjectives
 Some 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!

13. Posessive Adjectives
 Mi 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!!

14. You try it!
Práctica B: Complete with the correct possessive adjective.
1. (my) tíos
2. (our) abuelos
3. (his) primas
4. (their) madre
5. (your-informal) esposo
6. (her) sobrino
7. (my) hija
8. (our) nieta

15. Posessive Adjectives
are 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)

16. SU and SUS
 Since su and sus can have many
meanings, use the long possessive
form: (or prepositional phrase)
OBJECT + de + OWNER
instead for clarity or emphasis.

17. 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

18. 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.

19. 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.