Lecture on Possession in Spanish

Overview

• In English, possession is often indicated using apostrophe 's' (e.g., my mother's house).
• English also uses possessive adjectives (e.g., my house, your house, etc.).
• In Spanish, there is no equivalent to the apostrophe 's'.

Possession in Spanish

• Using "de":
  • Equivalent to the apostrophe 's' in English.
  • Example: "La casa de Miguel" translates to "Miguel's house."
• Possessive Adjectives in Spanish:
  • Mi casa (My house)
  • Tu casa (Your house)
  • Su casa (His/Her/Your formal house)
  • Nuestra casa (Our house) - agrees in gender and number:
    • Nuestra casa / Nuestras casas
    • Nuestro escritorio / Nuestros escritorios
  • Note: "Su" can mean his, her, your, or their.

Translation Practice

• El hermano de Matt: Matt's brother
  • Important: Include "el" in "el hermano de Matt".
• Los hijos de Juan: Juan's children
• Mi madre: My mother
• Tu padre / Su padre: Your dad (informal/formal)
• Su esposa: His wife

Examples and Exercises

• Possessive phrases examples:
  • Es mi libro (It's my book)
  • Mi familia es ecuatoriana (My family is Ecuadorian)
  • Nuestro profesor (Our professor)
  • Su reloj (His/Her watch)
• Exercises on plural forms:
  • Nuestros primos son canadienses (Our cousins are Canadian).
  • Sus lápices (Your pencils).
  • Mis amigas son inglesas (My friends are English).

Agreement and Use of "De"

• Gender and Number Agreement:
  • La bicicleta amarilla es de la abuela (The yellow bike is grandma's).
  • El coche verde es de los tíos de Juan Carlos (The green car is Juan Carlos’s uncle’s).
• Contraction:
  • "Del" is a contraction of "de el".

Questions and Responses for Practice

• Sample questions to practice possessive adjectives:
  • ¿Es grande tu familia? (Is your family big?)
  • ¿De dónde son tus padres? (Where are your parents from?)
  • ¿Cómo se llaman tus tíos y tus tías? (What are your uncles and aunts called?)
• Example answers:
  • Mi familia no es muy grande. (My family is not very big.)
  • Mis padres son de Michigan. (My parents are from Michigan.)

Upcoming Content

• Next video: Focus on family vocabulary, which is crucial for midterm exam preparation.
• Final video of the day: About using "ser" to describe people.
• Importance of learning family vocabulary using possessive phrases for the midterm.

These notes provide a comprehensive understanding of how possession is expressed in Spanish compared to English, including practical examples and exercises to illustrate the concept.