o meu / a miña / o teu / a túa
Possessives: My and Your
Say o meu or a miña for my, and o teu or a túa for your when you speak to someone as ti. The article comes first: a miña casa (my house).
How It Works
The forms.
- my: o meu libro, a miña casa, os meus libros, as miñas casas
- your: o teu libro, a túa casa, os teus libros, as túas casas
Agree with the thing owned. Choose the form from the noun that follows. Casa is feminine, so it is always a miña casa, whoever owns it.
Keep the article. Galician normally puts the article before the possessive: o meu libro, as túas chaves. The article then joins any preposition in front of it: no meu cuarto (in my room), da túa nai (of your mother). See definite articles.
Family words. With close family words such as pai, nai and irmán, the article is often left out: Meu pai traballa en Lugo and O meu pai traballa en Lugo are both correct.
Spelling. Túa and túas always have an accent, because the u and the a are two separate syllables. Miña has no accent.
Teu is only for ti. When you speak to someone as vostede, use seu and súa instead. See informal ti and formal vostede.
Possessives can also stand alone or follow the noun, as in un amigo meu. See possessives after the noun.
Examples (6)
- O meu libro está na mesa.
My book is on the table.
- A miña casa é pequena.
My house is small.
Miña is feminine because casa is.
- Os teus amigos son moi simpáticos.
Your friends are very nice.
- Onde está a túa nai?
Where is your mother?
- Meu pai traballa en Lugo.
My father works in Lugo.
With close family words the article can be left out. O meu pai is also correct.
- Estas son as miñas irmás.
These are my sisters.
Common Mistakes
Making the possessive match the owner instead of the thing owned.
O meu casa é grande.A miña casa é grande.Casa is feminine, so the possessive is a miña, whoever the owner is.
Using a Spanish-looking feminine form.
Esta é a mía casa.Esta é a miña casa.The standard feminine of meu is miña. Mía is heard in some local speech and in Spanish, but it is not standard Galician.
Leaving the accent off túa.
Esta é a tua chave.Esta é a túa chave.Túa and túas always carry a written accent, because the u and the a are said as two syllables.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Meu and teu agree with the thing possessed and normally appear with an article.
Related Patterns
- o seu / a súaHis, Her and Their: Seu and Súa
The possessive for his, her, their and formal your.
Level 1 - o noso / a nosa / o voso / a vosaOur and Your: Noso and Voso
The possessives for our and plural your.
Level 1 - ti / vostedeInformal Ti and Formal Vostede
Teu goes with ti; vostede takes seu.
Level 1 - un amigo meuPossessives as Pronouns and After the Noun
Possessives can also come after the noun or stand alone.
Level 3 - The Article With Body Parts
With body parts Galician usually uses the article instead of a possessive.
Level 3 - Accents in Vowel Sequences
Explains why túa and súa need a written accent.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice o meu / a miña / o teu / a túa in Bubblegum
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