Possessive Adjectives in Catalan

Overview

Possessive adjectives in Catalan indicate who owns or is associated with something. Unlike English possessives (my, your, his), Catalan possessives agree in gender and number with the thing possessed, not the possessor. This means "my cat" uses the masculine form el meu gat because "cat" is masculine, regardless of whether the speaker is male or female.

A distinctive feature of Catalan possessives is that they are typically accompanied by a definite article: el meu, la teva, els seus. This is different from Spanish but similar to Italian and Portuguese. Dropping the article sounds unnatural in most contexts.

At the A1 level, you should learn the full set of possessive forms and practice using them with the definite article. This will let you talk about family, belongings, and daily life naturally.

How It Works

Possessive Forms

Possessor	Masculine sg.	Feminine sg.	Masculine pl.	Feminine pl.
jo (my)	el meu	la meva	els meus	les meves
tu (your)	el teu	la teva	els teus	les teves
ell/ella (his/her)	el seu	la seva	els seus	les seves
nosaltres (our)	el nostre	la nostra	els nostres	les nostres
vosaltres (your pl.)	el vostre	la vostra	els vostres	les vostres
ells/elles (their)	el seu	la seva	els seus	les seves

Note: The 3rd person forms (seu/seva) are the same for "his," "her," "its," "their," and formal "your" (vostè). Context usually makes the meaning clear.

Examples in Context

Catalan	English	Note
el meu gat	my cat (m)	Masculine singular
la teva casa	your house (f)	Feminine singular
els seus fills	his/her children	Masculine plural
les nostres amigues	our friends (f)	Feminine plural
el vostre cotxe	your (pl.) car	Masculine singular
la meva mare	my mother	Feminine singular
els meus germans	my siblings	Masculine plural
la seva feina	his/her work	Ambiguous — context clarifies
el nostre professor	our teacher	Masculine singular
les teves claus	your keys	Feminine plural

Common Mistakes

Forgetting the definite article

• Wrong: Meu gat és gran.
• Right: El meu gat és gran.
• Why: Catalan possessives nearly always require the definite article. Omitting it sounds incomplete.

Making the possessive agree with the possessor instead of the possessed

• Wrong: la meu casa (thinking "la" because the speaker is female)
• Right: la meva casa (both article and possessive are feminine because "casa" is feminine)
• Why: The possessive agrees with the noun it modifies, not with the person who possesses.

Confusing "seu/seva" (ambiguity)

• Ambiguous: El seu llibre. (His book? Her book? Their book? Your book?)
• Clarification: El llibre d'ell. / El llibre d'ella.
• Why: When context does not clarify, you can use "de + pronoun" to specify the possessor.

Practice Tips

1. Practice with your belongings: pick up objects and say "el meu telèfon, la meva cartera, els meus llibres, les meves claus." Vary the possessor: "el teu, el seu, el nostre..."
2. Describe your family using possessives: "La meva mare es diu... El meu pare treballa a... Els meus germans viuen a..."
3. Remember the pattern: article + possessive + noun, with everything agreeing with the noun's gender and number.

Related Concepts

• Definite Articles — the articles that accompany possessives
• Family and People — using possessives with family vocabulary