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:
- i miei amici » my friends.
- la loro automobile » their
car.
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:
- la mia automobile è veloce » my car is fast (here my acts as an adjective for
the noun car)
- la loro è lenta » theirs is slow (here theirs is a pronoun,
meaning their car, not mentioned)
- il suo gatto prese un topo » his cat caught a mouse
- anche il tuo prese un
topo » also yours caught a mouse
- il vostro albero è alto » your (plur.) tree is tall
- il loro è basso » theirs is short
Only when the possessed noun is a specific family relative the article is
dropped, as in English:
- mio padre è alto (not "il mio padre") » my father is tall
- mia madre è
giovane (not "la mia madre") » my mother is young
- mio fratello è pigro (not
"il mio fratello") » my brother is lazy
Another important difference is that while in English the gender of the
possessive pronoun matches the possessor, in Italian it matches the possessed
subject:
- mio padre ha una bicicletta » my father has a bycicle
la sua bicicletta (sua matches bicicletta, feminine) » his bycicle (his matches father,
masculine)
- mia madre ha un cane » my mother has a dog
il suo cane (suo matches cane,
masculine) » her dog (her matches mother, feminine)
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