If you are working through the fundamentals or Level 1 series, you’ve likely encountered the "Practice It" section on page 219 (P219), specifically Estructura 1: De quién es? . This exercise is a cornerstone for mastering possessives in Spanish, shifting from basic "I/You" pronouns to identifying ownership.

If you had to translate "They are the teacher's (male) notebooks," would you use de el or del ?

When de is followed by the masculine article el , they must combine to form del (e.g., de + el hermano = del hermano ).

Rewrite: La computadora es de Juan y Ana. → Use de ellos .