Possessive Adjectives: mi, tu, su

Who Owns What? Possessive Adjectives

In Spanish, just like in English, we use special words to show that something belongs to someone. These are called possessive adjectives. For now, we'll focus on the three most common ones for single items.

Here's the main rule:

• mi means my

  • mi libro = my book
  • mi casa = my house

• tu means your (when talking to a friend, someone your age - informal 'you')

  • tu perro = your dog
  • tu idea = your idea

• su is a multitasker! It can mean his, her, its, or your (when talking to someone formally, like a boss or an elder).

  • su nombre = his name / her name / your (formal) name
  • su coche = his car / her car / your (formal) car

Key Points:

• These words come before the noun they describe.
• Unlike other Spanish adjectives, these simple forms (mi, tu, su) do not change for gender. It's mi amigo (masculine) and mi amiga (feminine).

A Quick Look Ahead: Plurals

When you're reading, you might see these words with an 's' at the end: mis, tus, sus. Don't worry! It's a simple rule: if the thing being owned is plural, you add an 's' to the possessive adjective.

• mi libro (my book) -> mis libros (my books)
• tu pluma (your pen) -> tus plumas (your pens)
• su casa (his/her house) -> sus casas (his/her houses)

Our drill will focus only on the singular forms (mi, tu, su) to build a strong foundation!