Possessive Pronouns in Spanish

You learned in [link to lesson 15 – Possessive Adjectives] that possessive adjectives show belonging or ownership. They can also indicate a relationship between people. An adjective describes a noun, so these come before nouns to tell who owns or has a relationship to the noun.

Examples:
Es mi madre. [She's my mother] Possessive adjective: mí
¿Dónde están tus libros? [Where are your books?] Possessive adjective: tus

These are the possessive adjectives:
Mi(s) [my]
Tu(s) [your {singular, familiar}]
Su(s) [his, her, your {singular or plural, formal}, their]
Nuestro(-a, -os, -as) [our]
Vuestro(-a, -os, -as) [your[plural, familiar]

This lesson is about possessive pronouns, which are quite similar to possessive adjectives. But it is important to notice the difference – while possessive adjectives describe a noun, possessive pronouns replace a noun. You use possessive pronouns when who or what you are talking about is clear from the context.
Examples:
¿De quién es éste coche? Es el mío. [Whose car is this? It's mine.]
Saquen sus libros, por favor. Pepe, ¿dónde están los tuyos? [Take out your books, please. Pepe, where are yours?]

Here are the possessive pronouns in Spanish:
Mine
el mío, la mía
los míos, las mías

Yours (familiar singular)
el tuyo, la tuya
los tuyos, las tuyas

His, hers, its, yours (singular or plural, formal), their
El suyo, la suya
Los suyos, las suyas

Ours
El nuestro, la nuestra
Los nuestros, las nuestras

Yours (plural, familiar)
El vuestro, la vuestra
Los vuestros, las vuestras

Note that the article precedes possessive pronouns. Note also that they replace the noun at the same point in the sentence. Use possessive pronouns to avoid redundancies or repetitions.
Examples:
Éste es mi café, y ese es tu café. [This is my coffee, and that is your coffee.]
Éste es mi café, y ese es tuyo. [This is my coffee, and that is yours.]
Tu casa es mas grande que su casa. [Your house is bigger than his house.]
Tu casa es mas grande que la suya. [Your house is bigger than mine.]
No tengo un lápiz. ¿Puedo usar tu lápiz? [I don't have a pencil. Can I use your pencil?]
No tengo un lápiz. ¿Puedo usar el tuyo? [I don't have a pencil. Can I use yours?]

Related Links: Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns in the Same Sentence - Beginning Spanish Spanish Worksheets Spanish Quizzes Spanish Games Spanish FlashCards