Spanish Possessive Pronouns: El Mío, La Tuya, and Related Forms

In this lesson, you will replace an already known owned noun with a possessive pronoun. The possessive form agrees with the thing owned, not with the owner.

Main possessive forms

Owner	Masculine singular	Feminine singular	Masculine plural	Feminine plural
	— mine	— mine	— mine	— mine
	— yours	— yours	— yours	— yours
/ / / / /	— his / hers / yours / theirs	— his / hers / yours / theirs	— his / hers / yours / theirs	— his / hers / yours / theirs
/	— ours	— ours	— ours	— ours
/	— yours	— yours	— yours	— yours

Use an article when the pronoun replaces the noun

Compare:

— My book is blue. Your book is green.

— Mine is blue. Yours is green.

The noun libro is understood, so the possessive pronoun appears with the definite article.

Feminine singular

— My suitcase is large. Your suitcase is small.

— Mine is large. Yours is small.

Plural examples

— Mine are here. Masculine plural objects.
— Yours are there. Feminine plural objects.
— Ours are new. Masculine plural objects.
— Yours are large. Feminine plural objects, .

The pronoun agrees with the owned thing

Suppose Ana owns one book and one suitcase.

— The book is hers.
— The suitcase is hers.

Ana is the same owner in both sentences, but changes to because the owned noun changes from masculine libro to feminine maleta.

Predicative possession without the article

After ser, you can state ownership without the article.

— The book is mine.
— The suitcase is yours.
— The dishes are ours.
— The keys are his / hers / yours / theirs.

For this lesson, — keys is useful ownership vocabulary.

Article plus pronoun versus es mío

Compare:

— Mine is here. The noun has been replaced.
— The book is mine. Ownership is stated after ser.

Possessive adjective versus possessive pronoun

— my book
— mine
— your suitcase
— yours

Mi and tu go before a noun. and replace an already understood noun.

Suyo can be ambiguous

may refer to , , , , , or . Use context or an explicit de + person phrase when clarification is needed.

— The backpack belongs to Ana. It is hers.

— The phone belongs to Carlos. It is his.

Understand vuestro even if you usually use ustedes

In varieties that use , matches the possessed noun.

— The book is yours.
— The house is yours.
— The dishes are yours.
— The keys are yours.

If your own Spanish uses , comprehension of forms remains useful.

Short ownership exchange

Person A: — Is this cup yours?

Person B: — No, mine is blue.

Person A: — And this book?

Person B: — Yes, it is mine.

A practical possessive method

Identify the thing owned.
Match the possessive form to that noun's gender and number.
Use the definite article when the possessive pronoun replaces the noun.
After ser, use forms such as es or son without the article.
Distinguish possessive adjectives such as mi and tu from independent possessive pronouns.
Clarify with context or de + person when needed.
Recognize forms even if you normally speak with .

From Possession to Borrowing and Returning

You can now identify ownership without repeating the noun and clarify ambiguous possession when necessary. The next lesson teaches how to borrow, lend, give, and return things without confusing the roles.