Possessive Adjective

Definition: An adjective used with a noun (or less commonly, pronoun) to indicate possession, ownership or close relationship.

In English, these are the possessive adjectives:

• My
• Your
• His
• Her
• Its
• Our
• Their

In Spanish, there are two types of possessive adjectives, the short form and the long form. Except rarely in poetry, the short form, which is more common, is used before the nouns they refer to, while the long form is used afterward. Here are the possessive adjectives of Spanish, with the short form first:

• Mi, mío (my)
• Tu, tuyo (your)
• Su, suyo (his, her, your, its, their)
• Nuestro, nuestro (our)
• Vuestro, vuestro (your)

As is the case with other adjectives, possessive adjectives must agree with the nouns they refer to in both number and gender.

Also Known As: Adjetivo posesivo in Spanish. In English grammar, the term "possessive determiner" is sometimes used.