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32. WHAT IS A POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE? A possessive adjective is a word that describes a noun by showing who possesses the thing or person being discussed. The owner is called the “possessor” and the noun modified is called the person or thing “possessed.” Whose house is that? It’s my house. My is an adjective that tells us who is the possessorpf the noun “house.” IN ENGLISH Here is a list of the possessive adjectives: Singular 1st person my 2nd person your rnasc. his 3rd person f fern. her t. neuter its Plural 1st person our 2nd person your 3rd person their Possessive adjectives never change their form, regardless of the thing possessed; they only refer to the possessor. Is that your house? Yes, it is my house. Are those your keys? Yes, they are my keys. The same possessive adjective (my) is used, although the objects pos- sessed are different in number (house is singular, keys is plural). What color is John’s car? His car is blue. What color is Mary’s car? Her car is blue. Although the object possessed is the same (car), the possessive adjec- tive is different because the possessor is different (John is masculine singular, Mary is feminine singular). IN SPANISH Like English, a Spanish possessive adjective refers to the possessor, but unlike English, it must agree, like all Spanish adjectives, in gender 107 and number with the noun it modifies, that is, the person or object possessed. For example, in the phrase nuestro hermano (our brother) the first letters of the possessive adjective nuestr- refer to the first person plural possessor our, while the ending -o is masculine singular to agree with hermano which is masculine singular. Let us see what happens when we make the noun brother plural. We love our brothers. Queremos a nuestros hermanos. III masc. p1. endings 1st pers. p1. possessor Nuestros refers to the possessor (our), but agrees in gender and number with the noun hennanos. Spanish has two sets of possessive adjectives: the stressed and the unstressed. The short, unstressed forms are the most common and will be considered first.
Unstressed Possessive Adjectives Let us look at the unstressed Spanish possessive adjectives to see how they are formed. Mv, YOUR (fain. sing.) HIS, HER, YOUR (form. sing.), THEIR, and YOUR (form. p1.) In Spanish, each of these possessive adjectives has two forms depending on the number of the noun possessed: 1. the singular (the same for both genders), and 2. the plural (the same for both genders). Here are the steps you should follow in choosing the correct posses- sive adjective. 1. Indicate the possessor. This is shown by the two letters of the pos- sessive adjective. my mi your (fain. sing.) tu his her your (form. sing.) their your (form. p1.) 2. Choose the ending according to the number of the noun possessed. • noun is singular —> the form of the possessive adjective does not change Ana lee mi libro. Ana reads my book. Ana lee tu libro. Ana reads your book. Ana lee su libro. Ana reads (her, your, their) book. • noun is plural —> add -s to the possessive adjective Ana lee mis libros. Ana reads my books. Ana lee tus libros. Ana reads your books. Ana lee sus libros. Ana reads his (her, your, their) books. Since the word su has many possible English meanings, Spanish speakers often replace it with the phrase: noun + de + prepositional pronoun. his book el libro de él her book J el libro de ella your (form. sing.) book su libro el libro de Ud. their book f el libro de ellos (ellas) your (form. p1.) book el libro de Uds. OUR, YOUR (1am. p1.) In Spanish, these possessive adjectives have four forms depending on the gender and number of the noun possessed: 1. the masculine sin- gular; 2. the feminine singular; 3. the masculine plural; 4. the femi- nine plural. Here are the steps you should follow in choosing the correct posses- sive adjective. 1. Indicate the possessor. This is shown by the first letters of the pos- sessive adjective. our nuestr- your (1am. p1.) vuestr- 2. Choose the ending according to the gender and number of the noun possessed. Place the unstressed possessive adjective before the noun. • noun possessed is masculine singular -4 add -o Ana lee nuestro libro. Ana reads our book. I. masc. sing. Ana lee vuestro libro. Ana reads your book. 109 Ana lee nuestra revista. fern, sing. Ana lee vuestra revista. Ana reads our magazine. Ana reads your magazine. • noun possessed is masculine plural —> add -os Ana lee nuestros libros. rnasc. p1. Ana lee vuestros libros. Ana reads our books. Ana reads your books. • noun possessed is feminine plural —> add -as Ana lee nuestras revistas. Ana reads our magazines. fern. p1. Ana leO vuestras revistas. Ana reads your magazines. Careful In Spanish and in English, the subject and the possessive adjective do not necessarily match. It all depends on what you want to say. ~Tienes tu libro? 2nd pers. sing. tTi~nes mi libro? 2nd pers. 1st pers. sing. sing. Do you have your book? 2nd pers. sing. Do you have my book? 2nd pers. 1st pers. sing. sing. Before you write a sentence with your decide whether it is appropriate to use the familiar or formal forms in Spanish. Then, make sure tat all the forms, including the verb, correspond. [ Tü lees tu carta. You are reading your letter. Ud. lee su carta. j Vosotros leéis vuestra carta. Uds. leen su carta. Stressed Possessive Adjectives Spanish also has another set of possessive adjectives called stressed possessive adjectives; they follow the noun they modify. They are used to add emphasis to the possessor and correspond to the English “of mine,” “of yours,” etc. that dress of mine [instead of my dress] those books of yours [instead of your books] The use of these stressed forms is more common in Spanish than in English. Like the unstressed possessives the first letters of the stressed posses- sive adjective refer to the possessor and the ending agrees with the item or person possessed. For example, in the phrase el libro tuyo (your book) the first letters of the possessive adjective tuy- refer to a 2nd person singular possessor your; the ending -o is masculine sin- gular to agree with libm which is masculine singular. Here is a list of the stressed possessive adjectives used with a mascu- line singular poun. mb mine; of mine tuyo your; of yours suyo his, her, your; of his, of hers, of yours nuestro our; of ours vuestro your; of yours suyo their, your; of theirs, of yours Here are the steps you should follow in choosing the correct stressed possessive adjective. 1. Indicate the possessor. This is shown by the first letters of the pos- sessive adjective. mine, of mine ml- your, of yours (fain. sing.) tuy- his, of his 1 her, of hers suy- your, of yours (form. sing.) our, of ours nuestr- your, of yours (fain. p1.) vuestr- their, of theirs x your, of yours (form. pI.) .1 Y 2. Choose the ending according to the gender and number of the noun possessed. Place the stressed possessive adjective after the noun. used to add emphasis to the possessor and correspond to the English “of mine,” “of yours,” etc. that dress of mine [instead of my dress] those books of yours [instead of your books] The use of these stressed forms is more common in Spanish than in English. Like the unstressed possessives the first letters of the stressed posses- sive adjective refer to the possessor and the ending agrees with the item or person possessed. For example, in the phrase el libro tuyo (your book) the first letters of the possessive adjective tuy- refer to a 2nd person singular possessor your; the ending -o is masculine sin- gular to agree with libro which is masculine singular. Here is a list of the stressed possessive adjectives used with a mascu- line singular poun. mb mine; of mine tuyo your; of yours suyo his, her, your; of his, of hers, of yours nuestro our; of ours vuestro your; of yours suyo their, your; of theirs, of yours Here are the steps you should follow in choosing the correct stressed possessive adjective. 1. Indicate the possessor. This is shown by the first letters of the pos- sessive adjective. mine, of mine ml- your, of yours (fain. sing.) tuy- his, of his 1 her, of hers suy- your, of yours (form, sing.) our, of ours nuestr- your, of yours (fain. p1.) vuestr- their, of theirs x your, of yours (form. p1.) .1 Y 2. Choose the ending according to the gender and number of the noun possessed. Place the stressed possessive adjective after the noun. 111 • noun possessed is masculine singular -+ add -o Ana lee un libro mb. Ana is reading a book of mine. masc. sing. • noun possessed is feminine singular —> add -a Ana lee una reV sta mba. Ana is reading a magazine of mine. fern. sing. • noun possessed is masculine plural —* add -os Ana lee unos libros mios. Ana is reading some books of mine. rnasc. p1. • noun possessed is feminine plural —> add -as Ana lee unas revistas mfas. Ana is reading some magazines of mine. fern. p1.
Here are two other examples. This car is John’s. My car is in the garage. 1. PossEssoR: 1st person singular 2. GENDER AND NUMBER OF NOUN POSSESSED: El coche (car) is masculine singular. El coche mb está en el garaje. rnasc. sing. These chairs of yours are very comfortable. 1. PossEssoR: 2nd person singular 2. GENDER AND NUMBER OF NOUN POSSESSED: Las sillas (chairs) are feminine plural. Estas silj~~yas son muy cómodas. fern. p1. ‘until Ian ~UOCCOOIVCflIJJCbIIVC1 Eli
• noun possessed is masculine singular —* add -o Ana lee un libro info. Ana is reading a book of mine. masc. sing. • noun possessed is feminine singular —> add -a Ana lee una revista mfa. Ana is reading a magazine of mine. fern. sing. • noun possessed is masculine plural —* add -os Ana lee unos libros infos. Ana is reading some books of mine. we masc. p1. • noun possessed is feminine plural —> add -as Ana lee unas revistas inias. Ana is reading some magazines of mine. fern. p1.
Here are two other examples. This car is John c. My car is in the garage. 1. POSSESSOR: 1st person singular 2. GENDER AND NUMBER OF NOUN POSSESSED: El coche (car) is masculine singular. El coche info está en el garaje. masc. sing. These chairs of yours are very comfortable. 1. PossEssoR: 2nd person singular 2. GENDER AND NUMBER OF NOUN POSSESSED: Las sillas (chairs) are feminine plural. Estas sil~~yas son muy cómodas. fern. p1. |
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