Unit 18 (Unidad 18)
Possessive adjectives and pronouns,
relative and interrogative pronouns
(Los adjetivos y pronombres
posesivos, los pronombres relativos e
interrogativos)
Level 1
1.1 Possessive adjectives (Adjetivos posesivos)
1.2 Possessive pronouns (Pronombres posesivos)
1.3 Variation on possessive pronouns (Variaci
´
on sobre pronombres posesivos)
1.4 Relative pronouns (Pronombres relativos)
1.5 Interrogative pronouns (Pronombres interrogativos)
1.1 Possessive adjectives
i Possessive adjectives describe nouns and indicate possession, as in the following cases:
Sing: mi tu su
Plur: mis tus sus

my

your

her/his/your/their/its
Sing: nuestro/a vuestro/a
Plur: nuestros/as vuestros/as

our

your
ii Mi, tu and su distinguish number only but nuestro and vuestro distinguish both


hers / his / its / yours (for Ud. and Uds.)/theirs
m. nuestro nuestros
f. nuestra nuestras

ours
m. vuestro vuestros
f. vuestra vuestras

yours (for vosotros/as)
ii Vuestro and its variants are not used in Spanish America. They are all replaced by
suyo, etc., which correspond to Uds.
Examples
El carro (M)esm´ıo The car is mine
La casa es m´ıa The house is mine
Los bol´ıgrafos son m´ıos The (ball-point) pens are mine
Las computadoras (M) son m´ıas The computers are mine
El libro es tuyo The book is yours
La silla es tuya Thechair is yours
Los cepillos son tuyos The brushes are yours
Las pelotas son tuyas The balls are yours
iii Suyo, etc. / nuestro and vuestro are used in the same way. Examples for use of suyo
corresponding to Uds., etc., in Mexico
Este changarro es suyo This store/shop is yours (i.e. speaking to
more than one person)
Los boletos (M) son suyos The tickets are yours
Estas chamarras (M) son suyas These jackets are yours
1.3 Variation on possessive pronouns
i There are a number of variations on this pattern. The possessive pronoun acts
commonly as an adjective when it follows the noun. It has the value of a(

ii The most commonly used relative in Spanish is que which is a splendidly all-purpose
pronoun, applicable alike as subject or object to persons or things of either gender or
number. Que follows close after its antecedent, so that, although it is invariable in
form, we are never at a loss to see what it refers to. Here are some typical examples:
La mujer que plant´o aquel ´arbol es... Thewoman who planted that tree is...
El ´arbol que plantaron los hombres es . . . Thetree that the men planted is . . .
Los trabajadores que hemos contratado son . . . Theworkers whom we have taken on are...
El pasto (M) que corta el hombre es largo Thegrass that the man cuts is long
In the first case, que relates to the subject of the clause, while in the second, it relates to
the object. Do not be deceived by the position of los hombres in the second clause, for
it is still the subject of the clause. This inversion of subject and object is very commonly
associated with the use of que and is a characteristic of Spanish, and French and Italian
for that matter. Whereas, in English, the relative pronouns that, which, who and whom are
frequently omitted (The man I saw), this is not the case in Spanish.
iii Cuyo, and its variants, are used with the meaning of whose or of whom.
Theagreement in number and gender is with the person or thing possessed:
Examples
la chica aquella cuyo padre nos invit´oacenar that girl whose father invited us to have an
evening meal
el libro cuyas p´aginas est´an rotas the book the pages of which are torn
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18 Possessive/relative/interrogative pronouns
el culpable cuya direcci´on no ha sido revelada the guilty person whose address has not
been revealed
1.5 Interrogative pronouns
Spanish interrogative pronouns are as follows:
¿Qui´en? Who(m)? ¿Cu´al? Which? ¿Qu´e? What? ¿Cu´anto? How much?
(Notice the written accent for the interrogative form.)
They do vary in form for number and gender according to their endings.
Examples

h Beben (
) coca cola (yo)
i Comen (
) helados (nosotros)
j No fum´ais (
) cigarrillos (ellos)
k Reciben (
)regalo (yo)
l Manda (
) carta (nosotros)
ii Answer the questions as in the example
¿De qui´en es el libro? > Es m´ıo
a ¿De qui´en es el peri´odico? d ¿De qui´en son las tarjetas?
b ¿De qui´en son las plumas (M)? e ¿De qui´en son los carros (M)?
c ¿De qui´en es la cartera? f ¿De qui´en son las casas?
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ASTUDENT GRAMMAR OF SPANISH
iii Complete the sentences as in the example (there may be various possibilities):
Pontumaleta en el armario y ( ) sobre la cama > ...ylam´ıa/suya sobre la cama
a Mi trabajo es dif´ıcil y (
)esf´acil
b Tus deberes son complicados y (
) son complicados tambi´en
c Nuestras flores son bonitas y (
) est´an marchitas
d Nuestra casa es chica (M) pero (
)esgrande
e Vuestros coches son caros pero (
) son baratos
f Sus sillas son pesadas pero (

a¿(
) haces? e ¿( ) llama?
b¿(
)delos dos prefieres? f ¿( ) son las flores que compras?
c¿(
) viene esta tarde? g ¿( ) escribes?
d¿(
) cuesta?
viii Class activity
Objective –touse the full range of possessive adjectives
Method –two class members address each other. This is then followed by the whole
class repeating the appropriate possessive adjective for them (nuestro), and then addressing
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18 Possessive/relative/interrogative pronouns
the first two. Member A says “It’s my hat.” Member B says “It’s your hat.”The class then
says: “It’s our hat.”The class also says: “It’s your/his/her/their hat.”
Examples
A: Es mi carro
B: Es tu carro
La clase: Es nuestro carro
La clase: Es su carro (his/her/their/your)
A: Es mi casa
B: Es tu casa
La clase: Es nuestra casa
La clase: Es su casa
A: Es mi canci´on
B: Es tu canci´on
La clase: Es nuestra canci´on
La clase: Es su canci´on
Yo u can put all the above nouns in the plural: