su
/su/
Translation
his, her, its, your (formal), their
Examples
¿ pasaporte, ?
Have you brought your passport, sir?
.
The dog plays with its ball in the garden.
.
His/Her mother arrived yesterday from Buenos Aires.
juguetes .
The children picked up their toys before dinner.
, .
I forgot his name, even though I see him every day.
Su is the third-person singular (and formal second-person singular usted) possessive determiner. Unlike English, which distinguishes "his," "her," and "its," Spanish uses the single form su for all three, plus formal "your" and "their" when the plural is su (before a singular noun) or sus (before a plural noun).
This ambiguity is a genuine structural feature, not a pitfall to fix. In conversation, context clarifies the possessor. When disambiguation is needed, Spanish uses a prepositional phrase: "el coche de él" (his car) versus "el coche de ella" (her car). Learners often over-construct these phrases when su alone would sound natural.
Related words
Used in
Stories
- Casi no llega3 min read
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- El primer día de Laura4 min read
- Lo mismo de siempre2 min read
- Los puestos del sábado4 min read
Grammar articles
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Go to my review queueThis word is part of lesson 1.