Possessives and demonstratives
Mi, tu, su, nuestro; este, ese and aquel; and mío, tuyo and el mío at Higher.
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Possessives and demonstratives, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Use mi, tu and su for my, your, his, her and their
Possessive adjectives go before the noun and agree with the thing owned, not with the owner. Mi, tu and su only change for the plural: mi hermano, mis hermanos; tu casa, tus libros. Tu (your) has no accent, unlike tú (you).
Know the meanings of su
Su and sus can mean his, her, its, their or your (with usted): su perro is his, her or their dog. The context tells you which. Where it could be unclear, Spanish says el perro de Ana instead.
Use nuestro and vuestro, which agree in gender as well
Nuestro (our) and vuestro (your, to two or more friends) have four forms, like an adjective ending in -o: nuestro piso, nuestra clase, nuestros padres, vuestras amigas. They agree with the thing owned, so two brothers talking about their home say nuestra casa.
Use este and ese for this and that
Este means this, for something near you, and ese means that, for something a little further away. Both agree with their noun: este libro, esta mesa, estos zapatos, estas fotos; ese chico, esa casa, esos días. Watch the masculine plurals, which end in -os: estos, esos.
Use esto and eso for this and that when there is no noun
For an idea, or a thing you don't name, use esto or eso, which never change: ¿Qué es esto?, What is this? Eso es verdad, That's true. You already know one in por eso, so or that's why.
Use aquel for that over thereHigher only
Aquel means that, for something far from both people talking: aquel edificio, that building over there. It agrees like este: aquella montaña, aquellos años, aquellas casas, and aquello means that thing. In your own writing ese is accepted, but you need to recognise aquel when you read or hear it.
Use possessive pronouns: el mío, la tuya, los suyosHigher only
To say mine, yours, his or ours instead of repeating the noun, use the article with mío, tuyo, suyo, nuestro or vuestro: Mi móvil es viejo; el tuyo es nuevo, My phone is old; yours is new. Both words agree with the thing owned: tu casa y la mía, mis libros y los suyos.
Use mío and tuyo after ser to say mine and yoursHigher only
After ser, the article is usually left out: Este libro es mío, This book is mine; ¿Es tuyo este móvil?, Is this phone yours? The word still agrees with the thing owned: Estas gafas son mías, These glasses are mine.
Possessives and demonstratives key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Possessive adjective
- A word before a noun that says whose it is: mi, tu, su, nuestro, vuestro. It agrees with the thing owned: mis padres, my parents.
- su and sus
- His, her, its, their, or your with usted. Use sus when the thing owned is plural: sus gafas, her glasses.
- tu and tú
- Tu with no accent means your: tu familia. Tú with an accent means you: ¿Tú vienes?, Are you coming?
- nuestro and vuestro
- Our, and your when talking to two or more friends. Unlike mi, tu and su, they agree in gender as well as number: nuestra madre, vuestros hijos.
- Demonstrative adjective
- A word that points to a noun: este (this), ese (that) and, at Higher, aquel (that over there). It agrees with its noun: esta semana, this week.
- esto and eso
- This and that, for an idea or a thing you don't name. They never change: No entiendo esto, I don't understand this.
- aquelHigher only
- That, for something far from both people talking: aquel pueblo, that village over there. Its other forms are aquella, aquellos and aquellas.
- Possessive pronounHigher only
- A word that stands in for a noun and says whose it is: el mío, mine; la tuya, yours; los nuestros, ours. It takes the gender and number of the thing owned.
Common mistakes in Possessives and demonstratives
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Making su plural because the owners are plural, as in Mis abuelos viven en sus casa.
Possessives agree with the thing owned, not with the owner. There is one house, so su casa, even though it belongs to two grandparents: Mis abuelos viven en su casa.
Writing an accent on tu or mi before a noun, as in tú hermano.
Before a noun, the possessives have no accent: mi hermano, tu hermano. The accented tú means you (and at Higher, mí means me after a preposition).
Forgetting that nuestro and vuestro change for a feminine noun, as in nuestro clase.
Nuestro and vuestro agree in gender as well as number: nuestra clase, nuestras vacaciones, vuestra casa.
Using esto or eso before a noun, as in esto libro.
Before a noun, use the form that agrees with it: este libro, esta foto, esos días. Keep esto and eso for an idea or a thing you don't name: Esto es difícil.
Leaving the article out of a possessive pronoun, as in Mi móvil es más nuevo que tuyo.Higher only
To say mine or yours in place of a noun, keep the article: que el tuyo. Only straight after ser can it drop: Es tuyo, It's yours.
Practice
Try a Possessives and demonstratives question
A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.
At the airport, you speak politely to a woman, using usted. Which word completes the question? Señora, ¿es esta ___ maleta?
- tu
- su
- vuestra
- sus
Show the answer and the working
Answer: su
With usted the word for 'your' is su, and one maleta keeps it singular: Excuse me, is this your suitcase?
- Polite 'you' is usted.
- Usted works like he and she, so its 'your' is su.
- Maleta is singular, so su, not sus.