Spanish possessive pronouns: mío, tuyo, suyo, and more

Spanish possessive pronouns

What are Spanish possessive pronouns?

In learner grammar, possessive pronouns are the stressed possessives used without a following noun: mío, tuyo, suyo, nuestro, vuestro. Modern descriptions may analyse some of these as stressed possessives or nominalised adjectives; the practical patterns are the same.

The ending agrees with the thing owned, not the owner: la mochila es mía, los libros son míos. Mía does not mean that the owner is female; it means that the omitted or stated noun is feminine singular.

Use no article after ser when you simply assign ownership: Es mío. Use the definite article when the form replaces a specific noun: Mi café está frío; el tuyo está caliente.

Spanish possessive-pronoun chart at a glance

mine: mío, mía, míos, mías; yours (informal singular): tuyo, tuya, tuyos, tuyas.

his, hers, yours (formal), theirs: suyo, suya, suyos, suyas; ours: nuestro, nuestra, nuestros, nuestras.

yours (informal plural in Spain): vuestro, vuestra, vuestros, vuestras.

After ser, normally omit the article: La llave es tuya. To replace a known noun, use el/la/los/las: La tuya está aquí.

32 Spanish possessive-pronoun examples

The examples separate predicate forms after ser, noun replacement with an article, agreement, and ways to clarify ambiguous suyo.

Learn possessives in four blocks

Start after ser, then add the article, practise agreement, and finish with clear alternatives to ambiguous suyo.

How do you choose the right possessive?

Identify the owner to choose mío, tuyo, suyo, nuestro or vuestro.

Then match the gender and number of the owned thing: libro mío, casa mía, libros míos, casas mías.

Ask whether the noun is present. After ser, use Es mío. To replace a specific known noun, use el mío, la mía, los míos or las mías.

Because suyo can mean his, hers, yours or theirs, use de él, de ella, de usted, de ustedes or de ellos when the context is not clear.

Hola Cards is a Spanish flashcard app from holacards.org for iOS and Android. It is free to download, needs no account, and core study works offline; the free version may show third-party ads while Premium removes them. The interface is available in English, Russian, and Portuguese; cards support translations in 28 languages and 18 practice and game modes. You can import these 32 fixed examples into a custom group and practise them with Spanish audio, writing, pronunciation, and review. Hola Cards does not choose a possessive form or correct open sentences automatically, so use the chart and context on this page to verify each answer.

Connect possessive pronouns with possessive adjectives, noun agreement, subject pronouns, demonstratives and prepositional pronouns.

Spanish possessive adjectives / Spanish adjective agreement / Spanish subject pronouns / Este, ese, aquel / Spanish prepositional pronouns

A five-minute possessive routine

1. Choose one masculine and one feminine object around you.
2. Say who owns each object with ser: Es mío; es tuya.
3. Replace each noun with el, la, los or las plus the possessive.
4. Make the objects plural and change both article and possessive ending.
5. Rewrite one ambiguous suyo with de él, de ella, de usted or de ellos.

Grammar references

Forms, agreement, article contrast and ambiguity were checked against Instituto Cervantes and RAE–ASALE.

• Instituto Cervantes: stressed possessives at A1–A2
• Instituto Cervantes: article contrast and post-nominal forms at B1–B2
• RAE–ASALE: meanings expressed by possessives

**Spanish possessive pronouns: 32 examples**

El libro es mío. - The book is mine.
La mochila es mía. - The backpack is mine.
Los cuadernos son tuyos. - The notebooks are yours.
Las llaves son tuyas. - The keys are yours.
El proyecto es nuestro. - The project is ours.
La casa es nuestra. - The house is ours.
El turno es vuestro. - The turn is yours. (Spain, plural informal)
Las entradas son suyas. - The tickets are his, hers, yours (formal), or theirs.
Mi café está frío; el tuyo está caliente. - My coffee is cold; yours is hot.
Esta chaqueta es la mía. - This jacket is mine.
Tus zapatos están aquí; los míos están allí. - Your shoes are here; mine are over there.
Sus maletas son grandes; las nuestras son pequeñas. - Their suitcases are large; ours are small.
¿Cuál es el vuestro? - Which one is yours? (Spain, plural informal)
Prefiero la suya. - I prefer his, hers, yours (formal), or theirs.
Nuestro coche es rojo; el suyo es azul. - Our car is red; his, hers, yours, or theirs is blue.
¿Son estas gafas las tuyas? - Are these glasses yours?
Mi hermano tiene una bicicleta; la mía es nueva. - My brother has a bicycle; mine is new.
Tu camisa es blanca; la mía es negra. - Your shirt is white; mine is black.
Esos billetes son nuestros. - Those tickets are ours.
Esta idea es vuestra. - This idea is yours. (Spain, plural informal)
Las decisiones finales son suyas. - The final decisions are his, hers, yours, or theirs.
El ordenador no es mío. - The computer is not mine.
La responsabilidad es nuestra. - The responsibility is ours.
Los asientos del fondo son vuestros. - The seats at the back are yours. (Spain, plural informal)
El suyo está en la mesa. - His, hers, yours, or theirs is on the table.
El de Ana está en la mesa. - Ana's one is on the table.
Estas son de ellos, no de usted. - These are theirs, not yours (formal).
¿La reserva es suya? - Is the reservation his, hers, yours (formal), or theirs?
¿La reserva es de ustedes? - Is the reservation yours? (plural/formal)
Cada uno trajo lo suyo. - Everyone brought their own things.
Lo mío es enseñar. - Teaching is my thing.
Tú cuidas lo tuyo y yo cuido lo mío. - You look after your things, and I look after mine.