a casa dela
Clarifying Seu with Del and Dela
A súa casa can mean his, her, their or your (vostede) house. To make the owner clear, put del, dela, deles or delas after the noun: a casa dela (her house), o coche deles (their car).
How It Works
Why it is needed. Seu and súa agree with the thing owned and say nothing about the owner. Xoán e Ana venderon a súa casa could be his, her or their house. Adding de + the owner removes the doubt:
- a casa del (his house)
- a casa dela (her house)
- a casa deles (their house: men or a mixed group)
- a casa delas (their house: only women)
- a casa de vostede (your house, formal)
Two agreements. The article agrees with the thing owned, and del or dela agrees with the owner: o coche dela (her car), a bicicleta del (his bike).
Always contract. De joins el, ela, eles and elas into one word, as in contractions with pronouns: write dela, not de ela. The only exception is when the pronoun is the subject of a following verb, as in antes de ela chegar (before she arrives).
Other options. A full noun works the same way: a casa de Ana. When the context makes the owner clear, a súa casa is perfectly correct. Galician can also show the owner with a pronoun such as lle: Escoiteille a voz (I heard her voice).
Examples (5)
- Xoán chegou coa moza e co irmán dela.
Xoán arrived with his girlfriend and her brother.
Word by Word: Xoán arrived with-the girlfriend and with-the brother of-her.
Co seu irmán could mean his brother or hers. Dela makes it clear.
- Uxía vive cos pais e usa o coche deles.
Uxía lives with her parents and uses their car.
Word by Word: Uxía lives with-the parents and uses the car of-them.
- Esta é a casa dela, non a del.
This is her house, not his.
Word by Word: This is the house of-her, not the of-him.
- Coñeces o home dela?
Do you know her husband?
Word by Word: Know-you the man of-her?
- Este paraugas é de vostede?
Is this umbrella yours?
Word by Word: This umbrella is of you?
De vostede is the polite way to say yours.
Common Mistakes
Not contracting de and the pronoun.
É a casa de ela.É a casa dela.When de governs the pronoun directly, Galician always writes the contraction: del, dela, deles, delas.
Making del or dela agree with the thing owned.
Este é Pedro, e esta é a bicicleta dela.Este é Pedro, e esta é a bicicleta del.The bike belongs to Pedro, a man, so use del. Dela would mean that the bike belongs to a woman. The feminine noun bicicleta only affects the article a.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Del and dela name the owner explicitly when seu would be ambiguous.
Related Patterns
- un amigo meuPossessives as Pronouns and After the Noun
Another pattern where the owner is shown after the noun.
Level 3 - The Preposition de
De is the preposition that marks the owner.
Level 1 - ti / vostedeInformal Ti and Formal Vostede
Explains why seu and súa can also mean your, and when to use de vostede.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
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