English and the World · Spain · 44 · Seville · A1–C2 · A1–A2 free
Narrow white lanes, little squares with orange trees, the old Jewish quarter of Seville, a sad legend, and the house of a great painter. Choose your level.
The Barrio de Santa Cruz
Next to the Cathedral and the Alcázar there is a small, quiet neighbourhood of white houses, narrow lanes and little squares with orange trees: the Barrio de Santa Cruz. Some lanes are so narrow that you can touch the walls on both sides.
In the Middle Ages this was the Jewish quarter of Seville. Many Jewish families lived here until 1492, when the king and queen made them leave Spain. Some old synagogues became churches.
Two stories
In a narrow street there is a tile with a skull on it. Whose skull was it? The story says it was Susona’s. She was a young Jewish woman, and her father planned a revolt. She told her secret love, a Christian man, and the plan failed. Later she was sorry, and she asked for her head to hang over her door. The street is still called Calle Susona.
Near the walls there is another house. Whose was it? The great painter Murillo lived here. “Is this painting his?” “No, it isn’t his. The house is his, but the paintings are in the museum.”
🦉 Want more? Sophia explains pronouns of every kind, including mine, yours and whose, in In Her Place (Philo & Sophia, Lesson 8).
Language: whose, mine, yours, his, hers
| Before a noun | Alone | Example |
|---|---|---|
| my house | mine | The house is mine. |
| your ticket | yours | Is this ticket yours? |
| his painting | his | The house is his. |
| her door | hers | The skull was hers. |
| our / their street | ours / theirs | The street is theirs. |
| asking: Whose + noun? / Whose is it? | Whose skull was it? It was Susona’s. | |
⚠️ No apostrophe in yours, hers, ours, theirs (not ✗ your’s). And whose (possession) sounds the same as who’s (who is): Whose bag is this? / Who’s that?
Read the texts first. Press “Check my answers” at the end.
Choose the best answer.
1. Where is the Barrio de Santa Cruz?
2. What was it in the Middle Ages?
3. What did Susona do, in the story?
4. Who lived in the house near the walls?
Write the possessive pronoun: mine, yours, his, hers, ours or theirs.
5. This is my ticket. It’s .
6. Is this your map? Is it ?
7. It was Susona’s skull. It was .
8. It was Murillo’s house. It was .
Write whose, who’s, ours or theirs.
9. skull was it? Susona’s.
10. the guide today? It’s Ana. (who is)
11. That’s our hotel. It’s .
12. The Jewish families had to leave their houses. The houses were .
Go there!
Visit: walk through the lanes in the morning, before the crowds. Find Calle Susona and its tile, the Plaza de Santa Cruz with its iron cross, and the little Plaza de Doña Elvira. Then see the church of Santa María la Blanca, once a synagogue.
Your task: write six sentences about things in your house and who they belong to, with mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs and whose.
It tells how the most charming quarter of Seville was once its Jewish quarter, what happened there in 1391 and 1492, why a street is named after a woman whose skull hung over a door, and how much of its old-world charm was designed in the 20th century, with grammar, practice, etymology and a visit plan.
The A1–A2 version above is free for everyone.
It tells how the most charming quarter of Seville was once its Jewish quarter, what happened there in 1391 and 1492, why a street is named after a woman whose skull hung over a door, and how much of its old-world charm was designed in the 20th century, with grammar, practice, etymology and a visit plan.
The A1–A2 version above is free for everyone.