When is "my" not "mi" in Spanish? - Spanish possessives
I just did a Google search and couldn't find anything other than brief mentions of this important subject, probably because it's difficult to categorize. So let me adventure this guideline about using possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su, nuestro, vuestro, su) in Spanish:
When it's blatantly obvious who it belongs do, frequently you don't use the possessive adjectives - you use the definite articles (el, la, los, las).
There, I've said it. And you'll probably find lots of loopholes, but the phrase above points to a tendency in Spanish which doesn't exist in English. Below are some examples - please note that I'm using "my" and "your" for all of them, but the principle is true for his, hers, ours, theirs, etc.:
Talking about your body:
1. Me duele la cabeza - My head hurts.
2. Tienes una mancha en la cara - You have a spot on your face.
3. Tengo (el) pelo rojo - I have red hair / My hair is red.
4. Siento un dolor en el hombro - I feel a pain in my shoulder.
Talking about things which are obviously yours in the context:
1. He dejado el coche en la calle - I left my car out on the street.
2. ¿Dónde tienes los libros? - Where are your books?
3. Vengo a recoger los zapatos - I'm here to pick up my shoes.
3. Terminé el desayuno y salí - I finished (my) breakfast and left.
Almost always with reflexive verbs
1. Me puse la chaqueta y me fui - I put on my jacket and left.
2. Me lavé el pelo - I washed my hair.
3. Me hice daño en la muñeca - I hurt my wrist.
4. Me quité la ropa y me acosté - I took off my clothes and went to bed.
When English speakers first start studying Spanish, they say things like "Me duele mi cabeza" (shown correctly in number 1 above). It's not a serious error - any Spanish speaker will understand you but they will never say it that way themselves.
Brad
