Capítulo 5Gramática

Los adjetivos posesivos (Possessive

Adjectives)

Los adjetivos posesivos

Possessive Adjectives are used to show ownership or a relationship between people and/or things.

Singular noun Plural noun Translation

mi mis mytu tus your (familiar)

su sus their, your, his, her, its.

nuestro/nuestra nuestros/nuestras ourvuestro/vuestra vuestros/vuestras your (Spain)

Remember that the possessive adjective must match the noun being owned, not the owner. Once you decide to use the adjective su, only make it plural if it is in front of a plural noun—no matter how many people own the noun. If a family owns a car, “their car” is written su coche. If a man owns many cars, “his cars” is written sus coches.

Los adjetivos posesivos

“Our” has four different translations in Spanish. nuestro nuestra singular nuestros nuestras plural

As you can see, the adjective you use will depend on whether the noun that follows is masculine or feminine, singular or plural.

Por ejemplo:nuestro hermano nuestra hermana

nuestros hermanos nuestras hermanas

Los adjetivos posesivos

“Their” is written exactly like “his/her” su or sus

Por ejemplo:“their dog” is “su perro”“their cats” is “sus gatos”

A warning:Many people make the mistake of thinking that the owner of the object makes the difference in the number of the possessive adjective.Por ejemplo:People think that “their book” is “sus libro” because “they” is plural.Remember, it is the noun that follows the adjective that determines the plurality/singularity of the adjective.

Los adjetivos posesivos

Possessive Adjectives is Spanish, while referring to the owner, their form must match the number and gender (if applicable) of the object that it is referring to.

Por ejemplo: mi hermanotu abuelasu hijonuestro tíonuestra tía

my brotheryour grandmotherhis/her/your sonour uncleour aunt

singular

mis hermanostus abuelassus hijosnuestros tíosnuestras tías

my brothersyour grandmotherstheir/his/her sonsour unclesour aunts

plural Notice how there are

no articles!

you formal

Los adjetivos posesivos:

How to put sentences together using possessive 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.

Remember, don’t use ARTICLES!!!!

Practicamos:

1. (my) tíos2. (our) abuelos3. (his) primas4. (their) madre5. (your-informal)

padre6. (her) sobrino7. (my) hija8. (our) nieta

1. mis tíos2. nuestros abuelos3. sus primas4. su madre5. tu padre6. su sobrino7. mi hija8. nuestra nieta

**Don’t forget t make the adjective

agree with the noun!

Los adjetivos posesivos:

Since su and sus can have many meaning, use the long possessive form: (or prepositional phrase)

OBJECT + de + OWNERinstead for clarity or emphasis.

Por ejemplo: Sus gatos son muy bonitos.

Whose cats?His? Hers? Yours? Theirs?

To clarify, use the long possessive form:Los gatos de Rosa son muy bonitos.In this case, Sus gatos = her cats

Practicamos:

Marta es ____ hermana.

mi mis

Practicamos:

Traemos _____ libros a clase.

nuestra nuestros nuestras nuestro

Practicamos:

_____ padres son de Chile.

Su Sus

Practicamos:

Necesitáis ______ mochilas.

vuestra vuestros vuestras vuestro

Actividad 7 en pagina 162

Complete the following sentences to say that each person is looking for his or her own belongings.

THEN TRANSLATE THE SENTENCE!

Respuesta:

1. Busco mi libro de español. I am looking for my Spanish book.

2. Buscamos nuestros cuadernos. We are looking for our notebooks.

3. Ellos buscan sus mochilas. They are looking for their backpacks.

4. Mi hermana menor busca sus lentes. My little sister is looking for her glasses.

5. Buscas tus lápices. You are looking for pencils.

6. Mamá busca su reloj. Mom is looking for her watch.

EXIT SLIP

1. What are the possessive adjectives used in Spanish?

2. Where do possessive adjectives go in a statement?

3. What must possessive adjectives match?

Terminamos