How to Say "whose" in Spanish
The Spanish word for “whose” is “cuyo” — B2 level.
Examples
El escritor, cuya novela ganó el premio, es famoso.
The writer, whose novel won the prize, is famous.
Visitamos la ciudad, cuyos edificios son muy antiguos.
We visited the city, whose buildings are very old.
La mujer, a cuya hija ayudamos, nos dio las gracias.
The woman, whose daughter we helped, thanked us.
Agreement is Key
This word must match the gender and number of the thing being possessed (the noun right after it), not the person who possesses it. If you're talking about 'his car' (coche, masculine), you use 'cuyo' regardless of whether the possessor is male or female.
Forms of Cuyo
Remember the four forms: 'cuyo' (masculine singular), 'cuya' (feminine singular), 'cuyos' (masculine plural), and 'cuyas' (feminine plural).
Formal Connector
Use 'cuyo' to smoothly connect two pieces of information, showing possession, and avoiding repetition. It acts like a formal version of 'the car of the man'.
Matching the Possessor
Mistake: “El hombre, *cuya* hijos son altos. (Trying to match the feminine 'cuya' to 'hombre'.)”
Correction: El hombre, *cuyos* hijos son altos. (It must match 'hijos', which is masculine plural.)
Using the Article
Mistake: “El amigo, cuyo *el* coche es rojo. (Adding an article after 'cuyo'.)”
Correction: El amigo, cuyo coche es rojo. ('Cuyo' already includes the idea of the article, so don't use 'el', 'la', 'los', or 'las' afterwards.)
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