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Lo + Spanish possessive pronouns

Written by qualified Spanish expert Inma Sánchez BA
Last updated: 2024-10-28
4 questions
Note that this is a Europe focused lesson. Your active focus is Latin America.

The neutral article "lo" can be used with possessive pronouns (mío, tuyo, suyo, nuestro, vuestro, suyo) meaning "that thing that is mine, yours, his.../that thing about me, you, him...". This can refer to physical objects or abstract ideas.

Learn how to use lo with Spanish possessive pronouns

 

Lo + possessive pronouns to refer to something already mentioned

No he mencionado a nadie lo mío.I haven't mentioned to anyone that thing about me/my thing.

Lo tuyo con Andrés me parece una locura."Your thing" with Andrés (I think) is crazy.

Lo nuestro es vuestro.What is ours is yours.

In all the above examples the speaker is referring to something that has been mentioned before or is known by both the speaker and listener.

Lo + possessive pronouns to about what a person does/doesn't do well 

Lo mío es la pintura.Painting is my thing.

No insistas porque ligar no es lo tuyo.Don't insist because flirting is not your thing.

-¿Vienes a la discoteca? -No, gracias, bailar no es lo mío. Me quedo en casa.-Are you coming to the disco? -No, thanks. Dancing is not my thing/my cup of tea. I'll stay at home.

Lo + possessive pronouns to talk about someone's own interests

Ella siempre va a lo suyo. No se relaciona mucho con los demás.She always goes about her own business. She doesn't hang out a lot with others.

¡Vamos, cada uno a lo suyo! Estáis perdiendo el tiempo charlando tanto.Come on, everyone get back to what you're supposed to be doing. You are wasting time with so much chatting.

Tú, a lo tuyo. No te metas en sus asuntos.You, mind your own business. Don't pry into his problems.

Lo + possessive pronouns to express what is/would be ideal or most appropriate

Lo suyo sería que repartieran todo a partes iguales.The appropriate thing [to do] would be to share everything equally.

-Espero que en Barcelona podamos visitar La Sagrada Familia. -Eso sería lo suyo.-I hope in Barcelona we can visit La Sagrada Familia. -That would be ideal.

Note that in the last case, we can only use "suyo", not the other pronouns.

Notice that in all of the examples above, and in all contexts, we always use the article "lo" and the masculine singular form of the possessive pronoun, regardless of the gender of the subject.

This would be incorrect:

  • "Ella siempre va a lo suya"
  • "Ella siempre va a la suya"

Possessive pronouns can also be used with the definite articles el/la/los/las. To revise this see:

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Examples and resources

No he mencionado a nadie lo mío.I haven't mentioned to anyone that thing about me/my thing.
Lo tuyo con Andrés me parece una locura."Your thing" with Andrés (I think) is crazy.
Lo nuestro es vuestro.What is ours is yours.
Lo mío es la pintura.Painting is my thing.
No insistas porque ligar no es lo tuyo.Don't insist because flirting is not your thing.
-¿Vienes a la discoteca? -No, gracias, bailar no es lo mío. Me quedo en casa.-Are you coming to the disco? -No, thanks. Dancing is not my thing/my cup of tea. I'll stay at home.
Lo suyo sería que repartieran todo a partes iguales.The appropriate thing [to do] would be to share everything equally.
¡Vamos, cada uno a lo suyo! Estáis perdiendo el tiempo charlando tanto.Come on, everyone get back to what you're supposed to be doing. You are wasting time with so much chatting.
Ella siempre va a lo suyo. No se relaciona mucho con los demás.She always goes about her own business. She doesn't hang out a lot with others.
Tú, a lo tuyo. No te metas en sus asuntos.You, mind your own business. Don't pry into his problems.
-Espero que en Barcelona podamos visitar La Sagrada Familia. -Eso sería lo suyo.-I hope in Barcelona we can visit La Sagrada Familia. -That would be ideal.
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