Expressing Possession in Spanish

In English, “‘s” is added to the end of the noun that refers to the possessor. However, this is not done in Spanish. In Spanish, the preposition “de” is used to refer to the possessor. Here are a few examples below.

Example #1

Robert’s dog

In English, this means that the dog belongs to Robert. In Spanish, this would be expressed as “el perro de Roberto”. This is the English equivalent of “the dog of Robert”.

Example #2

Kathy’s book

In English, this means that the book belongs to Kathy. In Spanish, this would be expressed as “el libro de Kathy.”

Practice

1. Aaron’s cat

2. Eric’s sister

Answer

1. El gato de Aaron

2. La hermana de Eric

To express He/She/It belongs to the possessor, use the verb ser. This is the review of the conjugation in the present tense.

Ser

yo – soy

tú – eres

él/ella/Ud. – es

nosotros – somos

ellos/ellas/Uds. – son

Es is used if the noun is singular. Son is used if the noun is plural. The two forms are shown below.

Es de possessor.

Son de possessor.

A few examples are shown below.

Example #1

She is Jorge’s mother.

Since the noun is singular, es is used.

The following two answers are acceptable.

Es la madre de Jorge.

Ella es la madre de Jorge.

Example #2

They are Jane’s backpacks.

Since the noun is plural, son is used.

Answer: Son las mochilas de Jane.

Practice

1. It is Jackie’s computer.

2. They are Aaron’s notebooks.

3. She is Dylan’s daughter.

Answers

1. Es la computadora de Jackie.

2. Son los cuadernos de Aaron.

3. Es la hija de Dylan.

Ella es la hija de Dylan.

To ask who owns something, these are the two forms that are used. The same rules apply for the verb ser.

¿De quién es singular noun?

¿De quién son plural noun?

Here are a few examples.

Example #1

Whose house?

Since the noun is singular, the singular form is used.

Answer: ¿De quién es la casa?

Example #2

Whose photos?

Since the noun is plural, the plural form is used.

Answer: ¿De quién son las fotos?

Practice

1. Whose dog?

2. Whose son?

3/4/5/6. Follow the following model.

¿De quién es el libro? (Rose)

Answer: Es el libro de Rose.

3. ¿De quién es el coche? (Alex)

4. ¿De quién son las botas? (Karen)

5. ¿De quién son los refrescos? (Scott)

6. ¿De quién es la aspiradora? (Alma)

Answers

1. ¿De quién es el perro?

2. ¿De quién es el hijo?

3. Es el coche de Alex.

4. Son las botas de Karen.

5. Son los refrescos de Scott.

6. Es la aspiradora de Alma.

Expressing Possession with Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives indicate the owner of something or describe relationships between people or things. Possessive adjectives must agree with number of nouns they describe. Note that the nosotros form (nuestro(a/os/as)) is gender specific. The singular and plural forms of the possessive adjectives are shown below.

Singular

mi – my

tu – your (informal – tú)

su – your (formal – Ud.)

su – his, her, its

nuestro(a) – our

su – your (Uds)

su – their

Plural

mis – my

tus – your (informal – tú)

sus – your (formal Ud.)

sus – his, her, its

nuestros(as) – our

sus – your (Uds.)

sus – their

Possessive adjectives are always placed before the noun in the sentence. The endings of the possessive adjectives must also agree with the person or thing possessed. Below are a few examples.

Example #1

his teachers

Su would be used for his in Spanish. The plural form is used because the noun is plural.

Answer: sus profesores

Example #2

my money

Mi would be used for my in Spanish. The singular form is used because the noun is singular.

Answer: mi dinero

Example #3

our female friends

The nosotros form would be used for our in Spanish. The plural form is used because the noun is plural. Note that the feminine form is also used because the group of friends is all female.

Answer: nuestras amigas

Practice

1. your class (informal)

2. our office

3. my family

4. his gift

Answers

1. tu clase

2. nuestra officina

3. mi familia

4. su regalo