Spanish doesn't use apostrophes for possession. Instead, it uses the preposition de (of).
Using "de" for possession
Reverse the English word order to "the [person/item] of the [owner]". For example, "the girl's mother" translates literally as "the mother of the girl" (la madre de la niña).
| The girl's mother is intelligent. | La madre de la niña es inteligente. |
| The boys' aunt has a big dog. | La tía de los niños tiene un perro grande. |
| The doctors' daughter lives in Mexico. | La hija de los doctores vive en México. |
The mandatory contraction: del
When de is followed directly by the masculine singular article el (the), they merge into a single word: del.
- de
- el = del
You must always use this contraction when the owner is a masculine singular noun (like el profesor or el doctor).
| The teacher's wife buys a new house. | La esposa del profesor compra una casa nueva. |
| The doctor's grandmother lives far from the city. | La abuela del doctor vive lejos de la ciudad. |
| The husband's father is old. | El padre del esposo es viejo. |
Note that de does not contract with the other articles (la, los, or las).
Family members
The preposition de is especially useful for explaining family relationships. Like other Spanish nouns, family words come in masculine and feminine pairs (like el tío and la tía, or el primo and la prima).
| The girl's cousin is in the living room. | El primo de la niña está en la sala. |
| The teacher's cousin needs a new table. | La prima del profesor necesita una mesa nueva. |