Possessive adjectives are those that indicate possession or ownership. They correspond to the English "my", "your", "his", "her", "its", "our", and "their".The Italian possessive adjectives are also preceded by definite articles and agree in gender and number with the noun possessed, not with the possessor.
Possessive adjectives (aggettivi possessivi) and Possessive pronouns (pronomi possessivi) are usually compound forms which include a definite article that is not translated into English. Also, they are identical in form; the difference is in meaning. Where the possessive adjective "il mio" means "my," for example, the possessive pronoun "il mio" means "mine": "le tue scarpe e le mie" » your shoes and mine.
It is important to note that possessives agree in gender and number with the thing possessed, rather than with the possessor. Examples:
The table below provides a chart of possessive adjectives (aggettivi possessivi) in Italian:
| Possess. Adjective | Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular | Masculine Plural | Feminine Plural | Possess. Pronoun |
| my | il mio | la mia | i miei | le mie | mine |
| your (fam.) | il tuo | la tua | i tuoi | le tue | yours |
| your (pol.) | il Suo | la Sua | i Suoi | le Sue | yours |
| his, her , its | il suo | la sua | i suoi | le sue | hers,his, its |
| our | il nostro | la nostra | i nostri | le nostre | ours |
| your (fam.) | il vostro | la vostra | i vostri | le vostre | yours |
| your (pol.) | il Loro | la Loro | i Loro | le Loro | yours |
| their | il loro | la loro | i loro | le loro | theirs |
Yo can see that mio, tuo and suo behave like normal adjectives except in the masculine plural. Also, loro does not make any changes at all, it is invariable. Examples:
Only when the possessed noun is a specific family relative the article is dropped, as in English:
Another important difference is that while in English the gender of the possessive pronoun matches the possessor, in Italian it matches the possessed subject: