su can sometimes be ambiguous. Normally, the context makes the meaning clear, but if
there is doubt it is possible to clarify the meaning as follows:
La casa de Ud. (su casa)
your houseLa casa de Uds. (su casa)
your house (when more than one person owns the house)The same applies to ‘his’, ‘her’ and ‘their’, although this is less common as it is usually
assumed that su will be third rather than second person unless the context makes it clear
that this is not the case:
La casa de él La casa de ella
his house her house
La casa de ellos La casa de ellas
their house their house
Possessive pronounsIf the object that is ‘possessed’ is omitted, the possessive adjectives described above have
to be replaced by ‘possessive pronouns’ – ‘pronouns’ because they replace the noun. As
with the possessive adjectives, the pronouns must agree in number and gender with the
object(s) owned, not with the owner:
Mis zapatos
my shoesLos míos
mine (referring to a masculine plural object)Tus zapatos son blancos, los míos son azules.
Your shoes are white, mine are blue.The forms of the possessive pronouns are:
mine el mío la mía los míos las mías
yours el tuyo la tuya los tuyos las tuyas
his/hers/its/yours (Ud.) el suyo la suya los suyos las suyas
ours el nuestro la nuestra los nuestros las nuestras
yours (plural) el vuestro la vuestra los vuestros las vuestras
theirs/yours (Uds.) el suyo la suya los suyos las suyas
Possessives 113