Possessives and Demonstratives

Spanish Grammar 1

Chapter 7 · Possessives and Demonstratives

👉 Possessives and Demonstratives — Posesivos y demostrativos

Two groups of small words point at a noun: the possessives say whose it is (mi casa, el libro es mío), and the demonstratives say which one (este libro, ese libro, aquel libro). Both agree with a noun, but not always in the way you expect: mi, tu, su agree only in number, while nuestro, vuestro agree in gender and number, and su can mean five different things. This chapter gives the two sets of possessives, the three-way system of demonstratives, and the neuter forms for things that have no name yet.

The rule in one box Before the noun: mi, tu, su (plural mis, tus, sus) and nuestro, vuestro (four forms); no article. After the noun, or alone after ser: the long forms mío, tuyo, suyo, nuestro, vuestro, with the article when they replace a noun (el mío). This / that / that over there: este / ese / aquel (near me / near you / far from both), with the neuter esto / eso / aquello for ideas and unnamed things.

Short possessives: mi, tu, su, nuestro, vuestro

The short forms stand before the noun and take no article. mi, tu, su change only for number (the number of things possessed); nuestro and vuestro change for gender and number like -o adjectives.

Owner	one thing	several things
my	mi libro, mi casa	mis libros, mis casas
your (tú)	tu libro, tu casa	tus libros, tus casas
his, her, its, your (usted), their, your (ustedes)	su libro, su casa	sus libros, sus casas
our	nuestro libro, nuestra casa	nuestros libros, nuestras casas
your (vosotros)	vuestro libro, vuestra casa	vuestros libros, vuestras casas

Watch out: the possessive agrees with the thing, not the owner su does not change for a male or female owner: su hermano is "his brother" or "her brother". It only changes for the number of things: sus hermanos (his / her brothers). Also keep tu (your) apart from tú (you) and mi (my) apart from mí (me), as in Spanish Grammar 1 1.

Su: five meanings, and how to be clear

su means his, her, its, your (usted), your (ustedes), their. Context usually decides. When it does not, replace it with de + pronoun after the noun:

Unclear	Clear	English
su casa	la casa de él	his house
	la casa de ella	her house
	la casa de usted / de ustedes	your house (formal)
	la casa de ellos / de ellas	their house

Latin America note Spain has tú and vosotros for "you", so vuestro (your, several of you) is used only in Spain. Throughout Latin America the plural "you" is ustedes, so its possessive is su (su casa = "your house", said to several people), and vuestro sounds literary or religious. Because su does more work there, Latin Americans use de usted / de ustedes more often to be clear.

Long possessives: mío, tuyo, suyo, nuestro, vuestro

The long forms have four forms like an -o adjective and agree with the thing possessed. They appear in three places:

Owner	masc. sing.	fem. sing.	masc. pl.	fem. pl.
mine	mío	mía	míos	mías
yours (tú)	tuyo	tuya	tuyos	tuyas
his, hers, yours (usted), theirs	suyo	suya	suyos	suyas
ours	nuestro	nuestra	nuestros	nuestras
yours (vosotros)	vuestro	vuestra	vuestros	vuestras

Use	Example	English
after the noun ("of mine")	un amigo mío · ¡Dios mío! · una amiga suya	a friend of mine · my God! · a friend of hers
after ser: who it belongs to	Este libro es mío. · Estas llaves son tuyas.	This book is mine. These keys are yours.
with an article, replacing a noun	Mi coche es rojo; el tuyo es azul. · Mis llaves están aquí; las suyas, no.	My car is red; yours is blue. My keys are here; hers, no.
lo mío: my thing	Lo mío es la música.	Music is my thing.

Watch out: es mío against es el mío Es mío says the thing belongs to me. Es el mío picks out which one is mine from several: ¿Cuál es tu coche? — Es el mío, el azul. The long forms never take an article before a noun: say un amigo mío, not el mi amigo. And for parts of the body use the article, not a possessive: Me lavo las manos. · Me duele la cabeza.

Demonstratives: este, ese, aquel

Spanish has three demonstratives where English has two. They match the noun in gender and number, and each goes with a place word:

Distance	masc. sing.	fem. sing.	masc. pl.	fem. pl.	Place word
this, near me	este	esta	estos	estas	aquí
that, near you	ese	esa	esos	esas	ahí
that over there, far from both	aquel	aquella	aquellos	aquellas	allí

Use	Example
before a noun	este libro, esa casa, aquellos árboles
alone, as a pronoun	¿Cuál prefieres, este o ese? · Esta es mi hermana.
in time: close, near, far	este año (this year) · esa tarde (that afternoon) · aquel verano (that summer long ago)
never with the definite article	este libro, not el este libro

Watch out: no accent on the pronouns You may see éste, ése, aquél with an accent in older books to show the pronoun. The current rule is that the pronouns are written without an accent (este, ese, aquel) unless there would be real confusion. The neuter forms below never had an accent.

Neuter demonstratives: esto, eso, aquello

The neuter forms refer to something with no gender: an idea, a whole situation, or an object you cannot name. They never change and are never followed by a noun.

Form	Example	English
esto (near me)	¿Qué es esto? · Esto es importante.	What is this? This is important.
eso (near you, or what was just said)	Eso es verdad. · ¿Por qué dices eso? · ¡Eso es!	That is true. Why do you say that? That's it!
aquello (far)	Aquello fue muy difícil.	That (long ago) was very difficult.

🗣️ In Use — En situación

Read the exchanges aloud and notice which word points at what.

① Whose is it?

A:¿De quién es este móvil?Whose phone is this?

B:Es mío.It's mine.

A:¿Y esos libros?And those books?

B:Son de Ana. Son suyos.They're Ana's. They're hers.

A:¿Y aquel coche azul?And that blue car over there?

B:Aquel es el mío.That one is mine.

② Family

A:¿Cómo se llama tu hermana?What is your sister called?

B:Se llama Marta. Su marido es inglés.She's called Marta. Her husband is English.

A:¿Y vuestros padres?And your parents (you and your sister's)?

B:Nuestros padres viven en Escocia.Our parents live in Scotland.

③ In a shop

A:¿Cuánto cuesta este jersey?How much is this jumper?

B:Treinta euros.Thirty euros.

A:¿Y ese?And that one?

B:Ese cuesta cuarenta. Aquel, el del escaparate, es el más caro.That one is forty. That one over there, in the shop window, is the most expensive.

📋 Quick Reference — Resumen

Topic	Summary
short possessives	mi, tu, su (+ -s); nuestro, vuestro (four forms); no article; before the noun
su	his, her, its, your (usted / ustedes), their; clear it with de él / de ella / de usted / de ellos
long possessives	mío, tuyo, suyo, nuestro, vuestro; after the noun, after ser, or with an article (el mío)
parts of the body	article, not possessive: Me duele la cabeza
demonstratives	este (aquí) · ese (ahí) · aquel (allí), four forms each
neuter	esto, eso, aquello: ideas and unnamed things; never change
Spain / Latin America	vuestro (Spain) / su (ustedes in Latin America)

✏️ Try It Yourself — Ejercicios

Say the answer first, then click to check.

1. Say in Spanish: "my books", "your house" (tú), "our friends" (all women), "their car".

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mis libros · tu casa · nuestras amigas · su coche.

2. su casa can mean five things. Make it clear: "her house", "their house", "your house" (to a stranger).

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la casa de ella · la casa de ellos (or de ellas) · la casa de usted.

3. Say in Spanish: "a friend of mine", "This book is mine", "These keys are yours" (tú).

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un amigo mío · Este libro es mío · Estas llaves son tuyas.

4. What is the difference between Es mío and Es el mío?

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Es mío = it belongs to me. Es el mío = it is the one that is mine (picked from several).

5. Say in Spanish: "My car is red; yours is blue." (tú)

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Mi coche es rojo; el tuyo es azul.

6. Choose the demonstrative: "this car" (near me), "that car" (near you), "that car" (far from both).

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este coche · ese coche · aquel coche.

7. Say in Spanish: "What is this?", "That is true.", "Which do you prefer, this one or that one?" (the books are masculine)

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¿Qué es esto? · Eso es verdad. · ¿Cuál prefieres, este o ese?

8. How would you say "your parents" to several people, in Spain and in Latin America?

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Spain: vuestros padres (vosotros). Latin America: sus padres (ustedes).

9. Correct the mistakes: el mi libro · mi amigos · nuestro amigas · este libros.

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mi libro (no article) · mis amigos (plural) · nuestras amigas (feminine plural) · estos libros (plural).

10. Say in Spanish: "I wash my hands" and "My head hurts." Why is there no possessive?

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Me lavo las manos · Me duele la cabeza. For parts of the body Spanish uses the article, because the owner is clear.

Coming up in Chapter 8: Quantifiers, Numbers and Indefinites. Cardinal and ordinal numbers; mucho, poco, bastante, demasiado; algún, ningún, alguno, cualquier; todo, cada, otro; and alguien, nadie, algo, nada.