Comparison of Italian and Spanish

Possessive Pronouns and Adjectives

	Mas. Sg.	Fem. Sg.	Mas. Pl.	Fem. Pl.
1st pn sg.	il mio	la mia	i miei	le mie
2nd pn sg.	il tuo	la tua	i tuoi	le tue
3rd pn sg.	il suo	la sua	i suoi	le sue
1st pn pl.	il nostro	la nostra	i nostri	le nostre
2nd pn pl.	il vostro	la vostra	i vostri	le vostre
3rd pn pl.	il loro	la loro	i loro	le loro

We see that the possessive adjectives vary according to the person of the possessor, and also according to the number and gender of the thing possessed.
The definite article may be omitted in some set phrases. E.g. 'my wife' is simply mia moglie.
The Italian possessive pronouns are identical to the possessive adjectives. E.g., il mio means 'my one'.

Now, here are the Spanish possessive adjectives:

	Mas. Sg.	Fem. Sg.	Mas. Pl.	Fem. Pl.
1st pn sg.	mi	mi	mis	mis
2nd pn sg.	tu	tu	tus	tus
3rd pn sg.	su	su	sus	sus
1st pn pl.	nuestro	nuestra	nuestros	nuestras
2nd pn pl.	vuestro	vuestra	vuestros	vuestras
3rd pn pl.	su	su	sus	sus

We see that the definite article is not necessary.
We also see that the possessive adjectives do not vary according to gender when the possessor is singular.
Finally, we observe that the 3rd person plural forms are identical to the 3rd person singular forms.

In Spanish, unlike in Italian, the possessive pronouns are (slightly) different from the possessive adjectives:

	Mas. Sg.	Fem. Sg.	Mas. Pl.	Fem. Pl.
1st pn sg.	el mío	la mía	los míos	las mías
2nd pn sg.	el tuyo	la tuya	los tuyos	las tuyas
3rd pn sg.	el suyo	la suya	los suyos	las suyas
1st pn pl.	el nuestro	la nuestra	los nuestros	las nuestras
2nd pn pl.	el vuestro	la vuestra	los vuestros	las vuestras
3rd pn pl.	el suyo	la suya	los suyos	las suyas

Created October 2006.

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