Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Pronouns and Prepositions, Premium 3rd Edition (2016)
Part I. PRONOUNS
Chapter 4. Possessive pronouns
Possessive pronouns are not used as frequently in Spanish as they are in English. Because these pronouns stand for the object owned as well as the owner, they agree with the object owned in number and gender.
The possessive pronoun differs from the possessive adjective in significant ways. The adjective modifies and precedes the noun, as in the sentence Es mi gato (“It is my cat”), whereas the pronoun includes the significance of the noun and follows the conjugated verb, as in the sentence Es mío (“It is mine”). If the noun is plural, the possessive adjective is plural as well: mi gato, mis gatos; tu televisor, tus televisores. The following chart shows the possessive adjectives.
Possessive pronouns following ser
The possessive pronoun frequently appears after the third-person conjugated forms of ser—es and son. The possessive pronoun takes the gender of the things owned, not of the owner.
Rewrite the following sentences, using the appropriate possessive pronouns in place of the expressions that have possessive adjectives. Remember that a possessive pronoun takes the gender and number of the object owned.
Traducción Translate the following pairs of sentences into Spanish, using possessive pronouns.
1. The cat [m.] is mine. The cats [f.] are mine.
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2. The snake (la culebra) is yours. The snakes are yours.
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3. The bird (el pájaro) is hers. The birds are hers.
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4. The monkey (el mono) is his. The monkeys are his.
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5. The giraffe (la jirafa) is ours. The giraffes are ours.
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6. The pig (el cerdo) is theirs. The pigs are theirs.
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7. The spider (la araña) is mine. The spiders are mine.
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8. The horse (el caballo) is yours. The horses are yours.
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9. The butterfly (la mariposa) is hers. The butterflies are hers.
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10. The elephant (el elefante) is ours. The elephants are ours.
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Possessive pronouns expressing “of mine/yours/his/hers/ours/theirs”
When the possessive pronoun follows a noun in English, the word “of” is used before the possessive pronoun (“of mine,” “of yours,” “of his,” “of hers,” “of ours,” “of theirs”). In Spanish, there is no need to add de (“of”). Use of the possessive pronoun immediately after a noun adds emphasis to the owner of the object. (Use of the possessive adjective usually emphasizes the object owned.)
Traducción Use the second-person singular Spanish form for English you.
1. A friend [m.] of mine works here. __________________________________________________
2. A friend [f.] of mine lives here. __________________________________________________
3. Some friends [m.] of mine have a cabin (la cabaña) in Canada. __________________________________________________
4. A friend [f.] of his studies Spanish. __________________________________________________
5. I work with a friend [f.] of yours. __________________________________________________
6. A colleague (el colega) of ours speaks German (alemán) and Gaelic (gaélico). __________________________________________________
7. They don’t want to speak with him, because he is an enemy (el enemigo) of theirs. __________________________________________________
8. A friend [m.] of yours is a friend of mine. __________________________________________________
9. Those paintings (la pintura) of his are fascinating (encantador). __________________________________________________
10. A cousin [f.] of ours is a princess (la princesa) in Europe (Europa). __________________________________________________
Possessive pronouns in statements of comparison
In Spanish, when two or more things are compared (or contrasted), the name of the first item is mentioned, and the other items are typically referred to by pronouns. This is frequently seen in cases involving possession, as in the sentence “My house is red, but yours (your house) is white.” In these situations, you must use the appropriate definite article with the possessive pronoun.
Traducción Unless otherwise indicated, use the second-person singular Spanish form for English you.
1. Their house is dirty (sucio), but ours is clean (limpio).
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2. Her books are in the kitchen, and mine are in the dining room.
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3. He keeps (guardar) his money in the bank, but I keep mine under the mattress (el colchón).
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4. His cousins live in Hollywood, and hers live in Seattle.
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5. Our dog is a collie (el perro pastor), and hers is a poodle (el perro de lana).
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6. Her jewels (la joya) are fake (la imitación), but mine are real (auténtico).
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7. They buy their food in the supermarket (el supermercado), but we grow (cultivar) ours.
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8. His attorney (el abogado) works for a big firm (la firma). Ours has an office in a basement.
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9. It’s my life. It isn’t yours.
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10. You [pl., informal] have your problems (el problema), and I have mine.
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Possessive pronouns with regular comparisons
Regular comparisons in Spanish use más… que (“more … than”), menos… que (“less … than”), or tan… como (“as … as”).
When we compare two equally named people or things that are possessed or owned, the first one is mentioned and the second one is usually replaced by a possessive pronoun and the appropriate definite article.
Traducción
1. Their house is bigger than mine.
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2. My house isn’t as big as theirs.
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3. Her clothing is more expensive than mine.
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4. Your [pl., informal] jewels (la joya) are more elegant than ours.
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5. Her ferret (el hurón) isn’t as friendly (amable) as ours.
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6. His thermos (el termo) isn’t as full (lleno) as mine.
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7. María’s report (el reportaje) is more interesting than his.
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8. Juan’s laptop (el portatíl) is newer than yours [sing., formal].
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9. Her envelopes (el sobre) are prettier than mine. I’m going to buy a box (la caja).
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10. Their hammers (el martillo) aren’t as heavy (pesado) as yours [sing., informal].
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Possessive pronouns with irregular comparatives
There are four irregular adjectives of comparison:
The Spanish syntax for sentences with these irregular comparatives is identical to English syntax. Note that while these irregular comparatives do not take gender, they do agree in number with the subject of the sentence.
Traducción
1. Your [sing., informal] car is better than mine.
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2. Their chairs are better than ours.
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3. My painting is worse than his.
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4. Elena’s curtains (las cortinas) are worse than his.
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5. Your [sing., formal] friend is older than mine.
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6. My grandparents are older than yours [sing., informal].
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7. Our son is younger than yours [pl., informal].
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8. Our goldfish (la carpa dorada) are younger than theirs.
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9. Julia’s paella is better than mine.
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10. Beethoven’s music (la música) is better than hers.
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Traducción
I am very upset because Silvia has my ring. She says that it is hers, but I know that it is mine because it has my initials. Silvia is a kleptomaniac. Nothing in her house is hers. Many things are mine. For example, all the paintings are mine, the grandfather clock is mine, the candelabra in the dining room is mine, the washer and dryer are mine, even the food in the refrigerator is mine. What can I do? The famous lawyer Perry Mason (of classic television) says that possession is ninety-nine percent of the law. Therefore, everything is hers. Go figure!
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