Spanish Possessive Pronouns: Chart & Sentences

Spanish possessive pronouns are words used to talk about the things that belong to us or to other people. They are very useful in daily conversations in the language and very easy to use as well. This lesson will introduce a list of these pronouns and more importantly, you will read and listen to sentences with possessive pronouns in Spanish. By the end of the lesson, we hope that you can talk about your possessions in the language. Let’s start…

What are possessive pronouns in Spanish?

Spanish possessive pronouns or LOS PRONOMBRES POSESIVOS are words like “Tuyo” (yours) and “mío” (mine) that are used to talk about the things we own. Each possessive pronoun is linked to a subject pronoun in a certain way, for example: Yo – Mío, Tú – Tuyo and so on.

The difference between possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives

Possessive adjectives will always be placed before the noun they modify, just like this: “Mi amigo“. On the other hand, Spanish possessive pronouns will be placed after the main verb in the sentence, as in “El carro es mío” (The car is mine) and “El perro es suyo” (The dog is yours). Here, both MÍO and SUYO are possessive pronouns and are placed after the irregular verb SER. Another difference is that possessive pronouns are often used after definite articles (El mío/La nuestra…) as a reference to an object or person that was mentioned before, e.g. “Su esposo es guapo. El mío también.” (Her husband is handsome. Mine too)

Gender and number of possessive pronouns

Spanish possessive pronouns are also affected by the rules of grammatical number (plural and singular) and noun gender, which is why their form must agree in plural/singular form as well as masculine/singular form with the noun they refer to. For instance, in the example “El carro es mío“, CARRO is a masculine, singular noun, so we need a pronoun with the same features, that is MÍO (mine),  SUYO (your) and so on. On the other hand, if we were talking about several cars, then MÍOS or SUYOS should be used as in “Los carros son míos“. Consequently, we would use MÍA for a singular, feminine noun like CASA (house) as in “La casa es mía”, and following the same pattern MÍAS would be used for several houses as in “Las casas son mías”.

A chart for possessive pronouns in Spanish

The chart below will help you decide which Spanish possessive pronoun to use for the things you need to refer to. For a feminine, plural noun like “rosas”, you could use the pronouns in the last column, to make sentences like this one: “Las rosas son tuyas” (The roses are yours).

*M = Masculine / F = Feminine

Using Spanish possessive pronouns in sentences

Spanish possessive pronouns are normally used after the irregular verb SER and sometimes directly after definite articles (el, la, los). An easy way to remember these pronouns is by memorizing the ones in singular, masculine form in the chart above, such as MÍO, TUYO and so on. After that, you just need to add -S or change the ending to -A to make the pronoun feminine. Here are some sentences with this basic change in sentences:

1. El perro es mío.
2. Los perros son míos.
3. La perra es mía.
4. Las perras son mías. 

Sentences using possessive pronouns in Spanish

It is time to read and listen to more examples of sentences with Spanish possessive pronouns, following the rules explained above. Once you check the examples, make sure to practice with the grammar quiz at the end of the lesson.

Spanish Possessive Pronouns Quiz

Related Spanish Worksheets:

• Possessive Pronouns in Spanish – PDF Worksheet
• Possessive Adjetives in Spanish – PDF Worksheet