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How to use mi, tu, su and nuestro in Spanish (possessive adjectives)

Talk about your family, your things and whose is whose — naturally, out loud.

GRAMMAR PACK · 5 LESSONS · A1

Spanish possessives agree with the thing owned, not the owner: mi hermano but mis hermanos — the -s tracks how many brothers, not how many of you. mi, tu and su change only for number, never gender (mi casa, mi libro, mis amigas), while nuestro has all four forms: nuestro perro, nuestra casa, nuestros hijos, nuestras amigas. And su is a crowd — his, her, their and formal your — so when context is thin, clarify with de él / de ella / de ellos.

Below: each possessive with the family and everyday nouns it lives with, the agreement slips that give beginners away — and a way to practise them in a real conversation, no flashcards, no fill-in-the-blanks.

Say this

The phrases that carry the conversation

mi / mis (my + singular/plural)

  • mi casa es nuevamy house is new
  • mi hermano trabaja aquímy brother works here
  • mis padres viven en Limamy parents live in Lima
  • mis amigos son buenosmy friends are good

su / sus (his/her/their + singular/plural)

  • su carro es rojohis/her car is red
  • su hermana estudia medicinahis/her sister studies medicine
  • sus amigos viven cercahis/her/their friends live nearby
  • sus hijos están en la escuelatheir kids are at school

nuestro / nuestra / nuestros / nuestras (all four forms)

  • nuestro perro es grandeour dog is big
  • nuestra casa es pequeñaour house is small
  • nuestros hijos son jóvenesour kids are young
  • nuestras amigas son de Méxicoour friends (f) are from Mexico

Regional Spanish

What locals actually say

Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.

Watch out

Mistakes that mark you as a textbook speaker

  1. Learner says 'mi hermanos' for 'my brothers'.match the number — 'mis hermanos'.
  2. Learner says 'nuestro casa' for 'our house'.casa is feminine — 'nuestra casa'.
  3. Learner writes 'tú casa' for 'your house'.the possessive is 'tu' with no accent — 'tu casa'.

The part no drill site can do

No flashcards. You learn it by using it

Carla, &Be grammar teacher

Carla

Your grammar teacher for this pack

Nothing here is memorized off a chart. In the My Stuff lessons, Carla gets you talking about what's actually yours: you describe three family members with mi and mismi hermana es alta, mis padres viven en Lima. Then a quick belongings round: she points at imagined items and you sort out whose is whose with tu/tus and su/sustus llaves están aquí. Finally she stretches you into something shared — your house, your class, your friends — until all four nuestro forms come out of your mouth without you reaching for them.

Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.

Finish the 5 lessons and My Stuff is yours — earned, not given.

Download on the App Store First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you

Quick answers

Questions people ask

What's the difference between mi and mis?

Number — of the thing owned: mi perro es pequeño (one dog), mis padres viven en Lima (two parents). Saying mi hermanos is the classic slip; if the noun is plural, the possessive takes -s too.

What's the difference between tu and tú?

tu without an accent means your (tu casa, tu café está frío); with an accent means you. In speech they sound identical — the accent only matters in writing, and mixing them up there is very common.

How do you know if su means his, her, or their?

You often can't from the word alone — su casa can be his, her, their, or formal-your house. Context usually settles it; when it doesn't, Spanish speakers clarify with de él / de ella / de ellos. In Argentina many skip su entirely and say la casa de él.

Why does nuestro have four forms?

Because it's the only possessive that agrees in gender as well as number: nuestro perro, nuestra casa, nuestros hijos, nuestras amigas. Match both, and nuestro casa-type slips disappear.

Do Spanish possessives agree with the owner or the thing owned?

The thing owned — always. One person with two brothers still says mis hermanos, and a whole family with one dog still says nuestro perro. English never marks this, which is exactly why it takes spoken practice to make automatic.