Possessive Adjectives
Possessive adjectives are used to define a relationship of possession or association, which can be between a person and an item, or between humans and animals. This allow allows you to express my, your, his, her, its, our, or their. Each possessive adjective is associated with a subject pronoun.

Example
"My" in English, my laptop.
This indicates the laptop is belong to me.

Two Forms of Possessive Adjectives
In Spanish there are different forms of possessive adjectives depending on whether the noun is masculine or feminine, singular or plural. There are two types of Possessive Adjectives which are short-form and long-form.

A. Short-Form Possessive Adjectives
This can also be known as posseassive adjectives before the noun. It is the most common way of expressing possession. The possessive adjective comes before a noun, but there might be an adjective which comes between them.

Rule
All the possessive adjectives are used based on the numbers of belongings. Also, it is indicated by the gender of nouns but not the owner. Only nosotros and vosotros have distinct feminine forms.

ADJECTIVE TYPE			SINGULAR FORM	PLURAL FORM
Singular
1st person	my	yo	mi	mis
2nd person informal	your	tú	tu	tus
2nd person formal	your	usted	su	sus
3rd person	his, her	él,ella	su	sus
Plural
1st person	our	nosotros/ -as	nuestro/ -a	nuestros/ -as
2nd person	your	vosotros/ -as	vuestro/ -a	vuestros/ -as
2nd person	your	ustedes	su	sus
3rd person	your/ their	ellos,ellas	su	sus

Example
I lost my glasses.
Yo perdí mis gafas.

We listen to our parents.
Escuchamos a nuestros padres.

Your house is much bigger than ours.
Tu casa es mucho más grande que la nuestras.

Tips
A possessive adjective must be used in front of each noun when describing two or more of them.

Example
His grandfather and uncle.
Su abuelo y su tío.


B. Long-Form Possessive Adjectives
This can also be known as possessive adjectives after the noun. The possessive adjective comes after a noun.

ADJECTIVE TYPE			SINGULAR FORM	PLURAL FORM
Singular
1st person	mine	yo	mío/ -a	míos/ -as
2nd person informal	yours	tú	tuyo/ -a	tuyos/ -as
2nd personformal	yours	usted	suyo/ -a	suyos/ -as
3rd person	his, hers	él,ella	suyo/ -a	suyos/ -as
Plural
1st person	ours	nosotros/-as	nuestro/ -a	nuestros/ -as
2nd person	yours	vosotros/-as	vuestro/ -a	vuestros/ -as
2nd person	yours	ustedes	suyo/ -a	suyos/ -as
3rd person	theirs	ellos,ellas	suyo/ -a	suyos/ -as

Rule
All the possessive adjectives are used based on the numbers of belongings. Also, it is indicated by the gender of nouns but not the owner. This construction puts the stress on the adjective rather than the noun, which can be 'of mine', 'of yours'.

Example
He’s a friend of mine.
Es un amigo mío.

Our test results are better.
Los resultados de nuestros exámenes son mejores.

Where is your wallet?
¿Dónde está la cartera tuya?


Avoidance of Ambiguity
When we use the possessive adjective 'su'/ 'sus' and 'suyo'/ 'a'/ 'os'/ 'as', it can be confusing as they carry the meaning of ‘his’, ‘her(s)’, ‘your(s),’ ‘its’, ‘their(s)’.

Rule
In this case, we can use a prepositional phrase with personal pronouns or names instead.

Structure
[definite/ indefinite article] + [belonging] + de + [pronoun/ owner]

Example
London is the capital of the United Kingdom.
Londres es la capital del Reino Unido.

The perfume is Anna's.
El perfume es de Anna.


Parts of the Body and Personal Effects
In Spanish, possessive adjectives are normally not used on indicating a body part, clothing and personal possessions. Instead, a definite article is used to replace them.

Example
Your eyes are blue.
Tienes los ojos azules.

Put your jacket on.
Ponte la chaqueta.

You must wash your hands.
Debes lavarte las manos.