Possessives · long form (mío, tuyo, suyo, nuestro)

The stressed possessives — mío, tuyo, suyo, nuestro. They go AFTER the noun, or stand alone as pronouns.

Examples

Short possessives (mi, tu, su, nuestro, vuestro) go BEFORE the noun. Long (stressed) possessives can do three things:

1. Replace short forms for emphasis, going AFTER the noun:

un amigo mío

a friend of mine (not "mi amigo")

una casa nuestra — a house of ours

2. Stand alone as pronouns (with article):

Este libro es el mío. — This book is mine.

Esta casa es la nuestra. — This house is ours.

3. After "ser" without an article

predicate possession: Este libro es mío. — This book is mine. Esa casa es nuestra. — That house is ours.

Forms (agree in gender + number):

mío / mía / míos / mías — mine

tuyo / tuya / tuyos / tuyas — yours (informal sg)

suyo / suya / suyos / suyas

his / hers / theirs / yours (formal)

nuestro / nuestra / nuestros / nuestras — ours

vuestro / vuestra / vuestros / vuestras

yours (informal pl, Spain)

When "suyo" is ambiguous (could mean his/her/their/your-formal), Spanish often clarifies with "de él / de ella / de ellos / de usted":

Es la casa de él. — It's his house.

Common stand-alone phrases:

¡Madre mía! — My goodness!

amigos míos — my friends (vocative)

Lo nuestro… — our thing / what's between us

1. Long form AFTER noun for emphasis
un libro mío vs mi libro — the long form sounds emphatic.
- una amiga míaa friend of mine (f)
- unos coches nuestrossome cars of ours
2. Stand-alone pronoun with article
El mío, la nuestra — replaces the whole noun phrase.
- El mío es rojo.Mine is red.
- Las suyas están aquí.Hers / theirs are here.
3. After ser without article (predicate)
ser + long-form possessive (no article).
- Es mío.It's mine.
- Son nuestros.They're ours.

Short drills built on these 3 skills, with instant feedback on every answer. Free to start.