Possessives
Full possessive agreement, independent use, weak forms, and ambiguity.
The possessed thing controls agreement
Catalan possessives agree with the noun possessed, not with the owner. The ordinary prenominal pattern uses a definite article: el meu cotxe, la meva targeta. When the possessive stands alone after the verb, the article normally disappears: Aquest cotxe és meu.
Full possessive forms
| Owner | Masc. sg. | Fem. sg. | Masc. pl. | Fem. pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| jo | meu | meva / meua | meus | meves / meues |
| tu | teu | teva / teua | teus | teves / teues |
| ell/ella/vostè | seu | seva / seua | seus | seves / seues |
| nosaltres | nostre | nostra | nostres | nostres |
| vosaltres | vostre | vostra | vostres | vostres |
| ells/elles/vostès | seu | seva / seua | seus | seves / seues |
| literary plural owner | llur | llur | llurs | llurs |
Meua/teua/seua are standard, especially Valencian; central Catalan normally uses meva/teva/seva. Because seu can mean his, her, its, your formal, or their, use d’ell, d’ella, d’ells when ownership would be ambiguous.
With a noun, alone, and with family
- Default before a noun: la meva feina, els nostres amics.
- Independent/predicative: La decisió és vostra; aquest paraigua és meu.
- Kin terms often occur without the article in familiar expressions: mon pare, ma mare, casa meva. The productive everyday alternatives are el meu pare, la meva mare.
- Body parts usually prefer a clitic plus definite article, not a possessive: Em rento les mans, not normally *les meves mans.
Traditional weak possessives
| Owner | Masculine | Feminine | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| jo | mon / mos | ma / mes | mon pare, ma germana |
| tu | ton / tos | ta / tes | ta mare, ton germà |
| third person | son / sos | sa / ses | sa àvia, son oncle |
These are the forms properly called weak/unstressed possessives. They survive with kinship terms and in fixed or literary language. El meu is a full possessive used with an article, not a weak form.
Examples in context
He deixat el meu ordinador a casa.
I left my computer at home.
La teva germana encara viu a Lleida?
Does your sister still live in Lleida?
Els nostres veïns ens han convidat a sopar.
Our neighbours invited us to dinner.
Aquesta jaqueta no és meva; és d’ella.
This jacket isn’t mine; it’s hers.
Podeu donar-nos la vostra opinió?
Can you give us your opinion?
Cadascú ha de portar el seu got.
Everyone has to bring their own glass.
Casa meva és a deu minuts d’aquí.
My place is ten minutes from here.
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