There’s a phrase in Spanish I prefer to name the possession police.

This phrase will not be a possessive per se, however it all the time has one thing to do with possession.

As you will have guessed from the title, this possession police phrase is Spanish cuyo (whose, of which), and this submit will educate you all about it.

So, why is it the possession police?

The reply is sort of easy, however you’ll perceive it utterly after you learn the entire submit.

In brief, cuyo and its types all the time refer again to an individual or factor which seems earlier than them within the sentence (that is known as the antecedent).

Following cuyo is one other individual or factor.

Cuyo‘s mission within the sentence is making clear that the antecedent is the possessor of the second individual or factor. Nobody can overrun this. It’s the possession police, in spite of everything!

However jokes apart, cuyo is a vital phrase that helps us determine possessor and possessed in a sentence, and moreover permits us to introduce extra info within the type of a relative clause.

Despite the fact that I name it the possession police, cuyo is definitely not a possessive phrase however a relative adjective.

And also you should be questioning now… what on earth is a relative adjective?

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All About Relative Adjectives like Cuyo in Spanish

Relative adjectives are adjectives that present relation in sentences. They refer again to one thing or somebody that has already been talked about (the antecedent) and introduce new details about them within the type of a relative clause.

All this sounds far more difficult than it’s in actuality.

Let’s take a look at one instance with our visitor star of the day:

La chica cuyo gato es negro es mi hermana. (The woman whose cat is black is my sister.)

This sentence incorporates an antecedent (the woman), the relative adjective cuyo (whose) and extra info that may be analyzed like this:

gato (cat) — That is the noun possessed by the woman, who’s the proprietor.

es negro (is black) — That is the brand new details about the cat.

es mi hermana (is my sister) — That is the brand new details about the antecedent.

Each sentence with cuyo or one in all its siblings (cuya, cuyos and cuyas, all which means “whose”) will look just like the earlier instance. They are going to all the time comply with this sample:

antecedent + cuyo + a noun

The brand new info will usually come on the finish of the sentence:

El hombre cuya bufanda es roja es mi padre. (The person whose scarf is purple is my father.)

Nonetheless, we are able to even have that info originally:

Mi padre es el hombre cuya bufanda es roja. (My father is the person whose scarf is purple.)

Both method, each in Spanish and English, the which means of the sentence is identical: I’ve a father and he’s the person who’s sporting a purple scarf.

Now that you already know what a relative adjective is and easy methods to kind sentences with it, let’s take a look on the complete cuyo household.

Cuyo is a kind of phrases English audio system love due to its simplicity.

It is vitally straightforward to translate (whose, of which) and it behaves very effectively for a Spanish phrase. Don’t let it intimidate you simply because it’s the possession police!

Cuyo has three siblings: cuya, cuyos and cuyas, however earlier than we check out them intimately, let’s get to know cuyo somewhat higher and evaluate it with English “whose.” And when you learn this submit, you may try the phrase in all its types and makes use of on FluentU.

How you can Use Cuyo in Spanish: Cuyo vs. Whose

Cuyo and “whose” operate very equally of their respective languages. They each consult with an antecedent and introduce info within the type of a relative clause.

You’ll be able to observe the parallelisms in these two sentences:

La mesa cuya pata está partida es mía.

The desk whose leg is damaged is mine.

In fact, not all Spanish sentences and their translations into English could have a one-to-one correspondence, however typically talking, cuyo and “whose” require the very same elements of their sentences (antecedent, relative, possessed factor/individual, new info), so their buildings shall be very related a lot of the instances.

There are a few variations between the 2 phrases, although, and a few issues to have in mind when constructing sentences with cuyo:

1. Whereas English solely has “whose” for all genders and numbers, Spanish has 4 types: cuyo (masculine singular), cuya (female singular), cuyos (masculine plural) and cuyas (female singular). Right here they’re in motion:

El niño cuyo libro es verde vive en Madrid. (The child whose e book is inexperienced lives in Madrid.)

El hombre cuya bicicleta está rota vende coches. (The person whose bike is damaged sells automobiles.)

La mujer cuyos hijos son cocineros acaba de llegar. (The lady whose kids are cooks has simply arrived.)

El avión cuyas azafatas son de Miami acaba de aterrizar. (The airplane whose stewardesses are from Miami has simply landed.)

2. These 4 types all the time should agree with a noun (as a result of they’re adjectives), however they don’t agree with the antecedent! As a substitute, they agree with the possessed factor or individual:

El niño cuyo libro es verde vive en Madrid. (The child whose e book is inexperienced lives in Madrid.)

El hombre cuya bicicleta está rota vende coches. (The person whose bike is damaged sells automobiles.)

La mujer cuyos hijos son cocineros acaba de llegar. (The lady whose kids are cooks has simply arrived.)

El avión cuyas azafatas son de Miami acaba de aterrizar. (The airplane whose stewardesses are from Miami has simply landed.)

3. The nouns these relative adjectives agree with will all the time comply with them:

Visitó la casa cuyo dueño es de Venezuela. (He visited the home whose proprietor is from Venezuela.)

Not: *Visitó la casa dueño cuyo es de Venezuela. (*He visited the home proprietor whose is from Venezuela.)

Now you might be utterly able to take pleasure in every part every of those 4 little phrases can give you in Spanish!

I’ve divided them into 4 teams only for readability’s sake.

Consider it or not, you already know every part there may be to learn about them, so the remainder of this submit consists primarily of examples. The sentences in every group solely comprise the corresponding relative adjective, so it will likely be simpler so that you can see and perceive every of them.

Get pleasure from!

The Spanish Cuyo and Its Siblings

1. Cuyo

Cuyo is the masculine singular relative adjective. The nouns following it should be masculine singular as effectively:

He comprado el teléfono cuyo teclado es amarillo. (I’ve purchased the telephone whose keyboard is yellow.)

El hombre cuyo paraguas he encontrado es de Nueva York. (The person whose umbrella I’ve discovered is from New York.) Notice: Despite the fact that paraguas seems to be plural, it’s singular!

Mi madre, cuyo vestido es azul, está allí. (My mum, whose gown is blue, is over there.)

2. Cuya

Cuya is the female singular relative adjective. The nouns that comply with it are additionally female singular:

Ha venido la chica cuya madre es peruana. (The woman whose mother is Peruvian has arrived.)

El hombre cuya mujer es Marta acaba de llamar. (The person whose spouse is Marta has simply known as.)

Mi ordenador, cuya letra F no funciona, es muy caro. (My laptop, whose F key doesn’t phrase, could be very costly.)

3. Cuyos

Cuyos is the masculine pural relative adjective. The nouns following it should be masculine plural, too:

Hemos visitado al chico cuyos amigos viven en Guadalajara. (We’ve got visited the man whose pals reside in Guadalajara.)

Los estudiantes cuyos libros han sido robados están tristes. (The scholars whose books have been stolen are unhappy.)

El niño, cuyos padres están divorciados, vive con su abuela. (The child, whose dad and mom are divorced, lives together with his grandma.)

4. Cuyas

Cuyas is the female plural relative adjective. The nouns following it are female plural as effectively:

Vivo en una ciudad cuyas calles son muy estrechas. (I reside in a metropolis whose streets are very slender.)

La chica cuyas hermanas puedes ver en esta foto vendrá luego. (The woman whose sisters you may see on this image is coming later.)

El perro, cuyas patas están partidas, no puede caminar. (The canine, whose legs are damaged, can’t stroll.)

Observe the Spanish Cuyo: Attempt It Your self!

Able to put this info into observe? Full the next sentences with the right relative adjective. Don’t forget to have a look at the noun after the clean to resolve which type of cuyo to make use of! You’ll find the options on the finish of the submit.

1. El niño, _______ madre es enfermera, es muy divertido. (The child, whose mother is a nurse, could be very humorous.)

2. Este es el hombre _______ hijos son cocineros. (That is the person whose kids are cooks.)

3. La chica _______ libro es verde no ha llegado todavía. (The woman whose e book is inexperienced has not arrived but.)

4. Necesito el teléfono _______ teclado es amarillo. (I would like the telephone whose keyboard is yellow.)

5. Esta es la mujer _______ padres murieron el año pasado. (That is the lady whose dad and mom died final 12 months.)

6. Ana, _______ hermanas son estudiantes, vive conmigo. (Ana, whose sisters are college students, lives with me.)

7. Esta es la frase _______ solución puedes encontrar al remaining del submit. (That is the sentence whose answer you could find on the finish of the submit.)

And that’s it!

Didn’t I inform you this was as straightforward as pie?

Sentences with cuyo could seem somewhat bit extra difficult and complicated than regular ones, however I promise you that you’ll really feel tremendous pleased with your self when you begin utilizing this household of phrases.

So get on the market and begin utilizing cuyo like there isn’t a tomorrow in order that in the future I can say:

Le enseñé español a un estudiante cuyo español ahora es fantástico. (I taught Spanish to a learner whose Spanish now’s unbelievable.)

Keep curious and, as all the time, completely satisfied studying!

Options:

1. cuya 2. cuyos 3. cuyo 4. cuyo 5. cuyos 6. cuyas 7. cuya

Obtain:
This weblog submit is offered as a handy and moveable PDF that you simply
can take anyplace.
Click on right here to get a duplicate. (Obtain)