Spanish long-form possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, our, their)

Learn about Spanish long form possessives

In Spanish, there is a set of possessive adjectives with a longer form that are placed after the noun they are modifying. They have the same function as short-form possessive adjectives have but these emphasise the possession instead of the noun. Have a look at the table:


English

Masc

sing

Masc

plural

Fem

sing

Fem

plural

my/of mine mío míos mía mías
your/of yours (tú) tuyo tuyos tuya tuyas

your/of yours (usted)

suyo suyos suya suyas

his/of his

suyo suyos suya suyas

her/of her

suyo suyos suya suyas

its

suyo suyos suya suyas
our/of ours nuestro nuestros nuestra nuestras
your/ of yours (vosotros) vuestro vuestros vuestra vuestras

your/of yours (ustedes)

suyo suyos suya suyas

their/of theirs

suyo suyos suya suyas

You can see from the table that there are 4 different forms for each "possessor". The forms ending in -o and -a refer to singular masculine possession or singular feminine possession respectively. The forms ending in -os and -as refer to plural masculine possession or plural feminine possession respectively. 

Here are some examples:

Marcos es amigoo.Marcos is my friend/a friend of mine.

Victoria es amiga a.Victoria is my friend/a friend of mine.

Estos niños son hijos nuestros.These boys are our sons.

Estas niñas son hijas nuestras.These girls are our daughters.

As you can appreciate from the table, the possessive adjective "suyo, suya, suyos, suyas" could be referring to different possessors. Sometimes it is necessary to have more context to know who it is referring to. For example:

Un amigo suyo ha venido a la oficina.A friend of yours [usted or ustedes]/ of his/ of hers/of theirs has come to the office.

Las botas suyas están sucias y rotas.Your [usted or ustedes]/ his/ her/ their boots are dirty and broken.

More examples:

He visto el coche tuyo aparcado en la esquina.I saw your car parked in the corner. [you = tú]

Dejé las llaves vuestras encima de la mesa.I left your keys on the table. [you = vosotros]

Unos colegas tuyos están esperándote fuera.Some friends of yours are waiting for you outside. [you = tú]

¿Has visto esos pendientes de oro míos? Creo que los he perdido.Have you seen those gold earrings of mine? I think I lost them.

Remember to always place the long possessive adjectives after the noun, not before. You cannot say:

  • Javier es mío amigo.
  • Aquí está tuya cerveza.
Remember the written accent on : mío, mía, míos, mías.

See also how to use long-form possessives as pronouns:

 

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Examples and resources

Estas niñas son hijas nuestras.These girls are our daughters.
Victoria es amiga a.Victoria is my friend/a friend of mine.
Marcos es amigoo.Marcos is my friend/a friend of mine.
Estos niños son hijos nuestros.These boys are our sons.
¿Has visto esos pendientes de oro míos? Creo que los he perdido.Have you seen those gold earrings of mine? I think I lost them.
Un amigo suyo ha venido a la oficina.A friend of yours [usted or ustedes]/ of his/ of hers/of theirs has come to the office.
Unos colegas tuyos están esperándote fuera.Some friends of yours are waiting for you outside. [you = tú]
He visto el coche tuyo aparcado en la esquina.I saw your car parked in the corner. [you = tú]
Dejé las llaves vuestras encima de la mesa.I left your keys on the table. [you = vosotros]
Aquí tienen los zapatos suyos.Here you have your shoes. [you = ustedes]
Las botas suyas están sucias y rotas.Your [usted or ustedes]/ his/ her/ their boots are dirty and broken.
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