The Everything Spanish Grammar Book: All The Rules You Need To Master Espanol (Everything®) by Julie Gutin Read Free Book Online

vuestra, vuestros, vuestras
(your, informal in Spain)
su (your, formal)
su (your)
su (his, her, its)
su (their)
    Note that the nuestro and vuestro must agree in number and gender with the object of possession:
nuestro perro
our dog
nuestra oficina
our office
nuestros perros
our dogs
nuestras oficinas
our offices
    On the other hand, su perro can mean “your dog” (formal singular or plural), “his dog,” “her dog,” or “their dog.”
    Possessive Pronouns as Nouns
    In a modified form, possessive pronouns can replace nouns or noun phrases. Take a look at the following example:
    Es el sombrero de Jorge. Es su sombrero. Es suyo.
    It’s Jorge’s hat. It’s his hat. It’s his.
    In English, the same word, “his,” is used as a possessive adjective and possessive noun (this is not true of all forms, like “my/mine”). In Spanish, the following pronouns are used to replace a possessive noun phrase:
    Possessive Pronouns as Nouns

    To choose the right possessive pronoun, you’ll need to consider the possessor as well as the object possessed. The right pronoun will take the form of the possessor, but agree in number and gender with the object possessed:

    This, That, and the Other
    Demonstratives are generally used to refer to something by pointing to it, either literally or physically:
    Esta casa es mía.
    This house is mine.
    Ésta es tuya.
    This is yours.
    In the first example, the demonstrative esta is used as an adjective, describing casa. In the second example, ésta is used as a pronoun, which has replaced the noun phrase esta casa. In Spanish, demonstratives used as pronouns carry an accent mark to distinguish them from demonstrative adjectives.
    In English, there are two sets of demonstratives: “this” and “these” are used to refer to things near the speaker; “that” and “those” are used for objects far from the speaker. In Spanish, there are three levels of demonstratives:
    1. When the object is near the speaker, use este, esta, estos, estas, éste, ésta, éstos, or éstas .
    2. When the object is near the person spoken to, use ese, esa, esos, esas, ése, ésa, ésos, or ésas .
    3. When the object is not near the speaker or near the person spoken to, use aquel, aquella, aquellos, aquellas, aquél, aquélla, aquéllos, or aquéllas.
    In all three forms, demonstratives must agree in number and gender with the object they describe or refer to:
    Este restaurante es bueno. Éste es bueno.
    This restaurant is good. This one is good.
    Esa canción es bonita. Ésa es bonita.
    That song is pretty. That one is pretty.
    Aquellos chicos son interesantes. Aquéllos son interesantes.
    Those guys are interesting. Those ones are interesting.
    Definitely Indefinite
    Another set of pronouns, which may also be used as adjectives or adverbs, are the indefinite pronouns. Indefinite pronouns are used to refer to nouns in terms of their quantity or order. Some of these pronouns only have one form; others exist only in singular or plural form but change according to gender; yet others must agree in both number and gender with the noun they modify or replace.
    Most indefinite pronouns that only have one form are singular in number:
todo
everything
algo
something
nada
nothing
alguien
someone
nadie
no one
mucho
a lot
poco
a little
    However, there are two pronouns that are plural: demás (the rest) and todos (everybody).
    Another group of indefinite pronouns indicates gender but only exists in the plural:
varios, varias
various
ambos, ambas
both
    The rest of the indefinite pronouns are generally used as adjectives and should agree in number and gender with the noun they modify:
todo, toda, todos, todas
all
mucho, mucha, muchos, muchas
many, much
poco, poca, pocos, pocas
few, little
otro, otra, otros, otras
other
algún, alguna, algunos, algunas
some
ningún, ninguna, ningunos, ningunas
none
quienquier, quienquiera, quienesquiera
whoever
cualquier, cualquiera, cualesquier, cualesquiera
whichever
    ESSENTIAL
    Words like mucho