Possessive Adjectives

POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES
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Describing possession in English is confusing for Spanish speakers when being in lower levels because they still think in their native language and tend to translate all the ideas. One of the most common mistakes or errors is to use the possessive adjective YOUR when referring to a third party's possession:
"I saw Ana with your boyfriend." I know the student must have thought in Spanish "Ví a Ana con SU novio." Does this usually happen to you? Get used to associating each personal pronoun to its possessive adjective and make that relation when talking about possession instead of translating the sentence.

 I YouHe She It We  YouThey 
My  YourHis  HerIts Our  YourTheir 

Besides associating  them with each personal pronoun, you have to consider some points:
  • Possessive adjectives do no take plural form like in Spanish.
These are my two dogs. (These are mys two dogs.)

  • Remember: In English things, places, and food do not take masculine or feminine gender like in Spanish.
I like that watch! Its design is simple but fancy. (His design is simple and fancy.)

Fondo con reloj inteligente blanco

  • YOUR refers to personal pronouns YOU singular and plural. Watch out whenever expressing a third party's possession.
Ernesto likes taking selfies with his girlfriend. (Ernesto likes taking selfies with your girlfriend. / Ernesto likes taking selfies with her girlfriend.)


As usual, the best way to enhance the use of possessive adjectives is by doing extra practice and making mistakes while practicing. If you want to do some online practice, check the following links:


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