2. UNSTRESSED POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES: my, your, etc. _____1 (practice) |
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Singular |
Plural |
1st person |
mi(s)2 my |
nuestro/a(s)3 our |
2nd person |
tu(s) your (informal) |
vuestro/a(s)3 your (informal) |
3rd person |
su(s)4 his, her, your (formal) |
su(s)4 their, your (formal) |
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- The unstressed possessives precede the noun they modify:
- mi casa, tu padre, nuestro hijo
- All agree with the following noun in number (singular or plural); the number of possessors does not affect this:
- Nuestro, vuestro agree with the noun in gender as well:
- nuestros amigos→nuestras amigas; vuestro tío→vuestra tía
- Su(s) is highly ambiguous because it has many possible referents; it does not show any distinction between his, her, your (formal), and their. When clarification is necessary, the structure with de + noun or pronoun is used;
as with all these adjectives, the plural form is used only if the following noun is plural:
- Juana tiene un coche y Ana también tiene uno. Su (?) coche (→el coche de Juana) es verde.
- Carlos tiene dos hermanas y Ana tiene tres. No conozco a sus (?) hermanas (las hermanas de él).
- los chicos y su padre (their father); los chicos y sus padres (their parents)
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3. STRESSED POSSESSIVES: (of) mine, (of) yours, etc. |
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Singular |
Plural |
1st person |
mío/a(s) (of) mine |
nuestro/a(s) (of) ours |
2nd person |
tuyo/a(s) (of) yours (informal) |
vuestro/a(s) (of) yours (informal) |
3rd person |
suyo/a(s) (of) his, hers, yours (formal) |
suyo/a(s) (of) theirs, yours (formal) |
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- When used as adjectives, these possessives are less common and more emphatic than the unstressed adjectives.
- They follow the noun they modify, which is often preceded by an indefinite article. All agree with the noun in number and gender:
- un amigo mío a friend of mine; unas cosas nuestras some things of ours
- They are used as pronouns to avoid repeition of the noun; they are generally preceded by a definite article:
- Tu libro está en la mesa; el mío está en el escritorio.
- Me gusta mucho la teoría de ese investigador; es más lógico que la nuestra.
- The article is generally omitted after ser:
- Este coche es mío; no es suyo.
- The referent of suyo/a(s) can be ambiguous (his, hers, yours (formal), theirs) if the context does not make it clear. It is clarified with the structure el/la/los/las de + noun or pronoun referring to possessors:
- Ana y Raquel tienen coches; el suyo (?) (→el de Ana) es verde.
- Los chicos y las chicas toman clases; las suyas (?) (→las de ellas) son más difíciles que las suyas(?) (→las de ellos).
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