He invitado a los padres de mi novia.
I have invited my fiancée’s parents.40.1.4 Pertenecer
Ownership is sometimes expressed with the verb pertenecer, ‘to belong’, which
corresponds to a less colloquial, more formal register.Esta propiedad pertenece al señor Silva.
This property belongs to señor Silva.Estos terrenos pertenecieron a mi padre.
These plots belonged to my father.16.1.2.4 (p. 67);^10 (p. 42)
40.1.5 Es propiedad de
In formal written language, ownership is sometimes expressed through the phrase Es
propiedad de... , ‘it’s the property of.. .’Es propiedad del estado.
It is the property of the state.Son propiedad de nuestro club.
They are property of our club.40.2 Emphasizing possessive relations
To emphasize the idea of possession, you can either stress mi, tu, su... , or/and you can
use mío, tuyo, suyo... , in sentences like the following:Esta es mi colonia.
This is my cologne.Este dinero es mío.
This money is mine.Te dije que utilizaras tu toalla. Ésa es la mía.
I told you to use your towel. That one is mine.Emphasis in expressing possessive relations can also be achieved with the adjective
propio, ‘own’, which changes according to number (singular or plural) and gender
(masculine or feminine). This normally precedes the noun it qualifies, except in
sentences with tener, ‘to have’, where it may come before or after the noun.Lo vi con mis propios ojos.
I saw it/him with my own eyes.Su propia madre no sabe dónde está.
His/her own mother doesn’t know where he/she is.Tiene coche propio or tiene su propio coche.
He/she has his/her own car.Emphasizing possessive relations 40.2