Possessive adjectives (my, your, his/her, our, their) come before a noun, e.g., “This is my house.”
On the other hand, possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his/hers, ours, theirs) replace a noun and its possessive adjective, e.g., “This house is mine.”
In Italian, possessive adjectives and pronouns must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe, except for the possessive “loro” (their), which is invariable.
Moreover, the definite article must precede the possessive as an essential part that agrees with it in gender and number. This may sound a little unfamiliar and less natural to English speakers.
| Sing. Masc. | Sing. Fem. | Plural Masc. | Plural Fem. | |
| my (mine) | il mio | la mia | i miei | le mie |
| your(s) (informal singular) | il tuo | la tua | i tuoi | le tue |
| his/her(s)/your(s) (form. sing.) | il suo | la sua | i suoi | le sue |
| our(s) | il nostro | la nostra | i nostri | le nostre |
| your(s) (informal plural) | il vostro | la vostra | i vostri | le vostre |
| their(s)/your(s) (formal plural) | il loro | la loro | i loro | le loro |
The formal possessive “your(s)” should be capitalized in plural “il/la/i/le Loro,” and singular: “il Suo,” “la Sua,” “i Suoi,” and “le Sue.”
Agreement with the Noun
Note that, unlike in English, the possessive adjective agrees in number and gender with the noun it describes and not the subject, e.g., “i miei fratelli” (my brothers).
Note that we use “i miei” because the noun we describe is masculine and plural, although the subject is singular.
Similarly, in the example “le nostre madri” (our mothers), the possessive adjective “le nostre” agrees in gender and number with the noun it describes, “madri.”
The possessive adjective can come after the noun if the emphasis is placed on the possessor and the noun is preceded by an indefinite article or a verb.
For example, “un amico mio” (a friend of mine), “un problema tuo” (your problem), “Sono affari tuoi” (That’s your business), etc.
Use of “Proprio” & its Variations
One can also insert the adjective “proprio/-a” (own) between the possessive pronoun and the noun for emphasis. For example, “il suo proprio telefono” (his own phone), “la tua propria casa” (your own house), etc.
The plural forms of “proprio” and “propria” are “propri” and “proprie,” respectively. For example, “con le proprie mani” (with one’s own hands).
Dropping the Definite Article after the Verb “Essere” & Some Kinship Nouns
The definite article is optional and can be dropped after the verb “essere.”
For example, “Non è tuo, è mio,” (It is not yours, it’s mine), “Quella casa, è nostra” (That house is ours), etc.
Dropping the Definite Article before Some Kinship Nouns
We do not use the definite article to precede the possessive adjective with the following singular unmodified kinship nouns, except for “loro”:
| padre (father) | marito (husband) | suocero (father-in-law) |
| madre (mother) | moglie (wife) | suocera (mother-in-law) |
| figlio (son) | zio (uncle) | cognato (brother-in-law) |
| figlia (daughter) | zia (aunt) | cognata (sister-in-law) |
| fratello (brother) | genero (son-in-law) | cugino (male cousin) |
| sorella (sister) | nuora (daughter-in-law) | cugina (female cousin) |
For example:
| mio padre | my father |
| tua madre | your mother |
| sua zia | his/her aunt |
| le sue zie | his/her aunts |
| la sua zia vecchia | his/her old aunt |
| il loro figlio | their brother |
Notice that, in the last three examples, the kinship name is either not singular, modified, or preceded by “loro.” Thus, we need the definite article before the possessive adjective.
The definite article is still needed, if a possessive pronoun is used. For example, “Mio padre sta bene, e il tuo,?” (My father is well, and yours?).
The definite article with the following kinship nouns is optional, when singular and unmodified, except for “loro”:
| papà (dad) | e.g., mio papà | (or) | il mio papà |
| mamma (mom) | e.g., tua mamma | (or) | la tua mamma |
| nonno (grandfather) | e.g., suo nonno | (or) | il suo nonno |
| nonna (grandmother) | e.g., sua nonna | (or) | la sua nonna |
Other lessons in Level II:
