Learn Spanish (Spain): Necesito su pasaporte, por favor.

Necesito su pasaporte, por favor.

I need your passport, please.

Breakdown of Necesito su pasaporte, por favor.

his / her / their / your (formal)

Questions & Answers about Necesito su pasaporte, por favor.

Why is the word for "your" su here instead of tu?

This is the formal way to say "your". Because the speaker is being polite and using the formal usted form (likely a customs officer or hotel clerk speaking to you), they use su instead of the informal tu.

I learned before that su means "his" or "her". Can it mean "your" too?

Yes! The word su is a multi-purpose word. It can mean "his", "her", "their", or "your" (when speaking formally using usted or ustedes). In a face-to-face conversation where someone is asking you for something, context makes it obvious they mean "your" passport.

Why is there no word for "I" before necesito?

In Spanish, the ending of the verb tells you who is doing the action. The -o at the end of necesito already means "I need". You could say Yo necesito, but Spanish speakers usually drop the yo because the ending makes it clear.

Would su change if they asked for a feminine item, like a suitcase (maleta)?

No, su stays exactly the same for both masculine and feminine things. It is su pasaporte (masculine) and su maleta (feminine). It only changes if the item is plural, in which case it becomes sus pasaportes.