La Familia y Amigos - Family and Friends
Possessive Adjectives
In the last lesson you learned how to name family members. Now you need a way to say whose family they are. That's what possessive adjectives do – tiny words like mi, tu, su, nuestro, and vuestro that go in front of a noun and tell you who owns it.
The good news: Spanish possessives are simpler than English in most cases. The trickier news: a couple of them change shape to match the noun they describe.
Mi, Tu, Su – The Easy Three
These three are the workhorses. They each have a singular form and a plural form, but they don't change for masculine or feminine.
| Possessive | Meaning | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| mi | my | mis |
| tu | your (informal, one person) | tus |
| su | his / her / your (formal) / their | sus |
The pattern is dead simple: mi when there's one thing, mis when there are several. Same for tu / tus and su / sus. Gender doesn't matter.
- mi madre (my mother), mi padre (my father)
- mis hermanos (my siblings), mis primas (my female cousins)
- tu casa (your house), tus amigos (your friends)
- su hijo (his / her / their / your formal son)
- sus abuelos (his / her / their / your formal grandparents)
Notice how su / sus is wonderfully ambiguous. "Su madre" could mean his mother, her mother, their mother, or your (formal) mother. Spaniards rely on context to sort it out, and so will you. If you really need to be specific, you can add the person's name: "la madre de Pablo."
A quick warning: tu (your) has no accent, while tú (you) does. They look almost identical, so pay attention when reading.
Nuestro and Vuestro – The Ones That Change
This is where Spanish gets stricter. Nuestro (our) and vuestro (your, informal plural) have four forms each: masculine, feminine, singular, plural. They have to match the noun they describe in both gender and number.
| Pronoun owner | Masc. sing. | Fem. sing. | Masc. plural | Fem. plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nosotros/as | nuestro | nuestra | nuestros | nuestras |
| vosotros/as | vuestro | vuestra | vuestros | vuestras |
A few real examples:
- nuestro padre (our father) – masculine singular
- nuestra madre (our mother) – feminine singular
- nuestros abuelos (our grandparents) – masculine plural (or mixed)
- nuestras tías (our aunts) – feminine plural
- vuestra familia es muy grande (your family is very big) – addressing a group of friends in Spain
Vuestro is a uniquely Iberian word. In Spain, you'll hear it constantly when someone is speaking to a group of friends, family, or peers. Latin Americans use su / sus instead. Since you're aiming for Spain, treat vuestro as essential, not optional.
Putting Possessives in Real Sentences
The rule for placing possessives is simple: they go right before the noun, just like in English.
- Mi hermano vive en Barcelona. – My brother lives in Barcelona.
- ¿Cómo se llaman tus padres? – What are your parents' names?
- Su abuela tiene noventa años. – His/her/their grandmother is ninety.
- Nuestra casa es pequeña. – Our house is small.
- ¿Vuestros primos son de Madrid? – Are your cousins from Madrid?
Notice that the possessive matches the thing being possessed, not the owner. Nuestra casa is feminine because casa is feminine, not because of who owns it. This is the pattern that trips up English speakers most, so it's worth saying out loud a few times: "casa is feminine, so nuestra."
Practice
Words to Remember
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| mi | my (one thing) |
| mis | my (multiple things) |
| tu | your (informal, one person) |
| tus | your (informal, plural things) |
| su | his / her / your (formal) / their |
| sus | (plural form of su) |
| nuestro | our (masculine singular) |
| nuestra | our (feminine singular) |
| nuestros | our (masculine or mixed plural) |
| nuestras | our (feminine plural) |
| vuestro | your – plural informal (masc. sing.) |
| vuestra | your – plural informal (fem. sing.) |
| vuestros | your – plural informal (masc. plural) |
| vuestras | your – plural informal (fem. plural) |
Conversation
Catching up with a cousin
Marta: ¿Cómo está tu madre? How's your mum?
Javi: Mi madre está muy bien. ¿Y tus padres? My mum's great. And your parents?
Marta: Mis padres bien también. My parents are well too.
Talking about grandparents
Lucía: ¿Vuestros abuelos siguen en el pueblo? Are your grandparents still in the village?
Diego: Sí, nuestra abuela no quiere irse de allí. Yes, our grandmother doesn't want to leave.
Lucía: Es su casa de toda la vida. It's been her home all her life.
Asking about a colleague's family
Ana: ¿Tu hermano vive en Madrid? Does your brother live in Madrid?
Pablo: No, su mujer es de Sevilla, viven allí. No, his wife is from Seville, they live there.
Ana: ¿Y sus hijos? And his kids?
Practice
Recall
Type the Spanish for each English meaning. Leave a row blank if you draw a blank — that counts as a miss.
Practice
Translation Exercise
Translate each English sentence into Spanish.
Cultural Note
In Spain, vuestro / vuestra / vuestros / vuestras is something you'll hear many times a day – at the dinner table, in shops, in classrooms. Skipping it in favor of su would mark you as someone who learned Latin American Spanish. Keep using vuestro with friends, classmates, and any informal group, and save su for one formal "you" or for talking about other people's belongings.
You'll also notice Spaniards often drop possessives entirely when ownership is obvious – "Voy a casa" means "I'm going home" with no mi in sight. As you get more comfortable, you'll start to feel when the possessive is needed and when it's just clutter.