Modern Spanish Grammar: A Practical Guide

EXPRESSING POSSESSIVE RELATIONS 40.1Alicia es una gran amiga mía. (adjective)Alicia is a good friend of mine.Hoy llega una tía suya. (adjective)An aunt of his/hers is arriving today.Son tuyos. (pronoun)They’re yours.Sí, (son) míos. (pronoun)Yes, (they’re) mine.In certain set phrases, mío, tuyo, etc. translate into English as ‘my’, ‘your’, instead of‘mine’, ‘yours’:Eso fue idea mía.That was my idea.Eso es asunto suyo.That is his/her business.If the noun we are referring to has already been expressed or is understood, mío, tuyo,suyo, etc., are preceded by a definite article (el, la, los or las, ‘the’).Su casa no está mal, pero la tuya es mejor.His/her house is not bad, but yours is better.La nuestra es un poco pequeña para una familia tan grande.Ours is a bit small for such a large family.Tu coche está impecable. El nuestro está hecho un asco.Your car is impeccable. Ours is filthy.No encuentro mis llaves. Llevaré las tuyas.I can’t find my keys. I’ll take yours.Note that in the examples above the possessive is functioning as a subject (e.g. La tuyaes mejor) or object (e.g. Llevaré las tuyas) of the verb.40.1.2Es dePossession is also frequently expressed in Spanish with the construction es de ... ,which is the equivalent of ‘ ’s’ in English: This is normally used when the possessor isnamed, as inEs de María.Son de mi hermana.It is María’s.They are my sister’s.40.1.3De + pronoun/nounThe preposition de is also found before third person personal pronouns, for exampleusted, él, ella, when one wishes to avoid ambiguity between ‘your’, ‘his’ and ‘her’ insuch expressions as su casa or la casa suya.La casa de él.El padre de ella.His house.Her father.Note also the use of de with a noun or noun phrase as inLa ventana de la cocina.The kitchen window.238