Breakdown of ¿Vas a competir con un perro suyo?
el perro
the dog
un
a, an (masculine)
con
with
ir
to go
a
to
suyo
his / hers / theirs / yours (formal)
competir
to compete
Questions & Answers about ¿Vas a competir con un perro suyo?
Why use un perro suyo instead of just saying su perro?
Does suyo agree with the gender of the dog or the gender of the owner?
suyo can mean "of his," "of hers," or "of theirs." How do we know it means "of hers" in this sentence?
By itself, we do not! Out of context, un perro suyo could mean a dog of his, hers, yours (formal), or theirs. We assume "of hers" here based on the English translation provided, which implies the speakers already established who they were talking about. If you needed to clarify out of the blue, you could say un perro de ella.
Could I say un su perro to mean "a dog of hers"?
No, in Spanish you cannot put an indefinite article (un or una) right before a short possessive like su. You have to use the long form of the possessive (suyo or suya) and place it after the noun: un perro suyo.
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