There are few more useful words than ‘my:’ think of my coffee, my room, my hotel, my bag, and on and on. The word ‘my’ in Spanish is ‘mi.’ And the great news is that ‘my’ in Spanish works exactly as ‘my’ in English: mi café, mi habitación, and so on. Pair up the word ‘mi’ with any noun (people, places and things) and you’re all set.
‘My’ in Spanish, that is, ‘mi’, is one of what we call ‘possessive adjectives.’ As in English, they go right before the noun. Because they are adjectives, they need to agree in gender and number with the noun they’re accompanying. That is another difference with English, a language that doesn’t assign a gender to nouns. Luckily, all possessive adjectives in Spanish are genderless but ONE:
| Person | Possessive adjectives in Spanish.
Singular |
English |
| Yo | Mi | My |
| Tú | Tu | Your |
| Usted / él / ella | Su | Your |
| Nosotros / nosotras | Nuestro / nuestra* | Our |
| Ustedes / ellos | Su | Your / Their |
Attention! ‘Nuestro’ and ‘nuestra’ are the only possessive adjectives in Spanish that aren’t genderless, hence they’re the only ones that must agree in both gender and number with the noun: ‘nuestro’ = ‘our’ (masculine), and ‘nuestra’ = ‘our’ (feminine).
Follow this link for no fail rules on how to determine when a noun is feminine or masculine
Now, practice My in Spanish (and all the other possessive adjectives in Spanish, but first things first…):
My book is there = ‘mi libro está allá’
Your (i) cellphone is at the hotel = ‘tu móvil está en el hotel’
Here is your(r) ticket = ‘aquí está su ticket’
That’s her chair = ‘esa es su silla’
Our daughter is beautiful = ‘nuestra hija es bella’
Your (p) taxi is here, guys = ‘su taxi está aquí, chicos’
The ‘r’ in parentheses means ‘respectful’. Remember that in Spanish there is a respectful ‘you’ = ‘usted,’ and an informal (i) ‘you’ = ‘tú.’ The ‘p’ is for ‘plural.’
What if you own many things? If you want to say ‘my car’ in Spanish, that would be ‘mi coche,’ but if you were talking about two or more cars, ‘my’ in Spanish (‘mi’) becomes ‘mis’ = ‘Mis coches.’ Learn all the plurals:
| Possessive adjectives in Spanish. Plural | English |
| Mis | My |
| Tus | Your |
| Sus | Their |
| Nuestros / nuestras* | Our |
| Sus | Their |
Let’s add some vocab to our repertoire to practice:
| The suitcase | La maleta |
| The passport | El pasaporte |
| The wallet/The purse | La cartera |
| The credit card | La tarjeta de crédito |
| The computer | La computadora* |
| The charger | El cargador |
*This is the most common form and the one we’ll use in our examples, but you’ll find that some people say ‘el computador,’ and in Spain they say ‘el ordenador.’
In context:
Where are her suitcases? = ‘¿Dónde están sus maletas?’
Here are our passports = ‘Aquí están nuestros pasaportes’
Your credit cards are in my wallet = ‘Tus tarjetas de crédito están en mi cartera’
We need our computers. Where are they? = ‘Necesitamos nuestras computadoras. ¿Dónde están?’
Where are their chargers? = ‘¿Dónde están sus cargadores?’
Speaking of possession, how would you say something like ‘my computer’s charger’? Easy!
My computer’s charger = ‘El cargador DE mi computadora’
So by adding ‘de’ you can express possession; just follow this nice formula. Don’t forget to add the article at the beginning!
| Sandra’s suitcase | The suitcase of Sandra | La maleta de Sandra |
| The station’s restroom | The restroom of the station | El baño de la estación |
| Pedro’s passport | The passport of Pedro | El pasaporte de Pedro |
Our tutors at Fluenz Spanish Immersion can help you master these rules with a program that will engage and inspire you like no other. Our tips and tricks, the careful way we teach Spanish, and the passion we infuse into every minute of your learning will make all the difference.