Intermediate Italian Level 1

Unit 2 - Review #7 Possessives: Adjectives and Pronouns

We’re nearing closer to learning new Italian content. Before you know it, these review lessons will be something you just know effortlessly! Before we take on the challenges of Intermediate Italian, let’s review Italian Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns! ​ ​ ​ ​

How do Italian Possessives look like? When do we use them? How are they different from English possessives?

Write down everything you can remember about Italian Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns:

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Example Sentences with Possessive Adjectives & Pronouns

Here are some example sentences in Italian that use the Possessive adjectives/pronouns. You will notice that these are underlined in each sentence. We will use these sentences to ​ ​ understand Italian possessives more in depth on the next page! What I want you to do right now is:

● take note of the possessives underlined ● say the sentences out loud to practice your Italian pronunciation ● see if you can remember why each possessive is used in each of these sentences.

La mia amica Sara abita a Roma My friend Sara lives in Rome ​ ​ This sentence is a standard example of a possessive. We use LA MIA feminine singular, not ​ ​ ​ ​ because the speaker is a female, but because my friend SARA is a female. ​ ​

More examples: I tuoi piatti sono buonissimi! Your dishes are delicious! ​ ​ Conosci i miei genitori? Do you know my parents? ​ ​ ​ ​ Mia sorella non parla Spagnolo My sister doesn’t speak Spanish ​ ​ Portate l’asciugamano vostro? Are you guys going to bring your own towel? ​ ​ ​ ​ No, usiamo il vostro! No, we’re gonna use yours! ​ ​ ​ ​ Va bene, potete usare il nostro Ok, you can use ours ​ ​ Casa mia è bella. Com’è la tua? My house is beautiful. How is yours? ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Le loro giacche sono nere Their jackets are black ​ ​ Le giacche loro sono nere Their jackets are black ​ ​ ​ Il loro accento è bello Their accents are beautiful ​ ​

Possessive Adjectives

Italian possessives correspond to the English: MY, YOUR, HIS, HER, ITS, OUR, YOUR, THEIR. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ They’re based on two factors:

1. Owner Asking yourself who the ‘owner’ (that is, the person whose stuff we are saying is theirs!) is

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in a sentence will determine which possessive pronoun you choose (first person, second ​ ​ person etc). 2. Item owned Once we know who (which grammatical person) something belongs to, we need to look at the gender and number of the thing owned. ​ ​ ​ ​ Example: Il mio amico My friend (male) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ The possessive IL MIO is masculine singular because the friend whom you are speaking about is ​ ​ ​ ​ male, AMICO. ​ ​ ​ ​ In other words, we used IL MIO because: ​ ​ 1) the AMICO belongs to ME(IO) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2) AMICO is masculine singular ​ ​ ​ ​ La mia amica My friend (female) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ The friend whom you are speaking about is a female, so we use AMICA feminine singular. We ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ are still saying that she is MY FRIEND so we use LA MIA and match the gender and number to ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ AMICA. ​ In other words, used LA MIA because: ​ ​ 1) the AMICA belongs to ME(IO) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2) AMICA is feminine singular ​ ​ ​ ​ Whether you are a woman or a man, it doesn’t matter. All people will say the same sentence depending on the gender and number of the person/thing “owned”. ​ ​ ​ ​ Il suo amico His/Her/Its friend (male) ​ ​ ​ IL SUO belongs to the 3rd person (him, her, it). In this sentence we say IL SUO because we can ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ be speaking about the friend of a guy, a girl, a dog, a table, whatever! AMICO is masculine singular because this friend is a male. So, we use IL SUO masculine to ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ match the gender of AMICO. ​ ​ La sua amica His/Her/Its friend (female) ​ ​ ​ ​ LA SUA belongs to the 3rd person (him, her, it). ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ AMICA is feminine singular because our friend is a female. ​ ​ ​ Be careful with the 3rd person. In English we say HIS or HER, but in Italian it doesn’t change. In ​ ​ ​ ​ English you also have the possessive pronoun ITS. In Italian, we don’t have that. ​ ​ ​ ​

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For example: La sua gamba Its leg ​ ​ Since there is no currently used Italian word for IT, in this example we use LA SUA because it is ​ ​ ​ ​ the 3rd person feminine singular and it corresponds with LA GAMBA which is feminine. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ More examples: Il nostro amico Our friend (male) ​ ​ ​ IL NOSTRO belongs to US(NOI) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ AMICO is masculine singular. ​ ​ ​ So, IL NOSTRO is the masculine first person plural that means OUR(NOI) and it matches the ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ masculine AMICO. ​ ​ I nostri amici Our friends (male) ​ ​ ​ I NOSTRI belongs to US(NOI) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ AMICI is masculine plural. ​ ​ ​ We must match I NOSTRI to the masculine plural of AMICI. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ More examples of plural possessives: I suoi amici His/Her/Its friends ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ I SUOI belongs to HIS/HER/IT (SUO) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ AMICI is masculine plural. ​ ​ ​ ​ In this example, we are talking about all of HIS/HER/ITS friends, so we use the plural form of SUO ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ so that it matches AMICI. ​ ​

We can also say: Le sue amiche His/Her/Its friends ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ LE SUE belongs to HIS/HER/ITS (SUO) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ AMICHE is feminine plural. ​ ​ ​ It’s good to remember not to overthink the plural form of possessives. I see how it could get ​ ​ ​ ​ confusing when a plural object belongs to a plural subject. But, this is similar to English. Look ​ ​ ​ ​ here:

Il nostro amico Our friend ​ ​ ​ In this example WE are talking about OUR ONE friend. So, all we do is match NOSTRO(OUR) to ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ AMICO which is masculine singular, just as we did before. ​ ​ ​ ​

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Structure of Possessive Adjectives

Standard Italian teaches you the following structure for Possessive Adjectives: ​ ​

[Definite Article] + [Possessive Adjective] + [Thing Owned]

La mia macchina My car ​ ​ ​ ​ Le vostre scarpe Your shoes I tuoi libri Your books

This is, in Italian, we can also put the possessive adjective at the end of a sentence, like: La macchina mia My car ​ This structure is mostly used in conversation and in the South of Italy. ​ ​ ​ ​ [Definite Article] + [thing owned] + [Possessive Adjective]

Le scarpe vostre Your shoes I libri tuoi Your books

Expressing yourself using both of these structures is correct. The only difference is, one may be more common depending on which part of Italy you’re in.

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Each Possessive Adjective has 4 forms:

Each possessive adjective has 4 forms: ​ ​ ​ ​ ● masculine singular / masculine plural ● feminine singular / feminine plural.

When we use IO(I), the 4 forms of its possessive look like this: ​ ​ ​ ​ IL MIO (if what I own is a singular, masculine noun) ​ I MIEI (if I own a plural, masculine) ​ LA MIA (if I own a singular, feminine) ​ LE MIE (if I own a plural, feminine) ​

Write down ALL the possessives for TU, LEI/LUI, NOI, VOI, LORO:

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Possessive Adjectives:

IO TU LUI / LEI NOI VOI LORO

Singular, IL MIO IL TUO IL SUO IL NOSTRO IL VOSTRO IL LORO masculine

Plural, I MIEI I TUOI I SUOI I NOSTRI I VOSTRI I LORO masculine

Singular, LA MIA LA TUA LA SUA LA NOSTRA LA LA LORO feminine VOSTRA

Plural, LE MIE LE TUE LE SUE LE NOSTRE LE VOSTRE LE LORO feminine

What’s the deal with LORO?

This one, I think, is actually the easiest one from all of the possessive adjectives. It’s different ​ ​ than the rest, but the only thing that changes is the article, LORO does not change. The ​ ​ ​ ​ pronunciation is also pretty straight-forward making it easier to say.

Examples: Non conosco i loro cugini I don’t know their cousins ​ ​ ​ ​ Le loro storie sono interessanti Their stories are interesting ​ ​ Il loro sogno è di vivere in Italia Their dream is to live in Italy ​ ​ Adoro la loro passione per l’italiano! I adore/love their passion for Italian! ​ ​ ​ ​

Dropping the Article with Possessive Adjectives

In Italian, you have to use the definite article when using Possessive Adjectives! There is one ​ ​ ​ ​ exception though, and that is, when we are speaking of family members in the singular. ​ ​ ​ Look at the examples below that highlight family members in the singular, and family members in the plural. Pay close attention to the articles!

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Examples: Mia sorella My sister Le mie sorelle My sisters Mio padre My father I miei genitori My parents Mia zia My aunt Le mie zie My aunts

The act of dropping the article before singular family members only holds true when you use the ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ actual “title”. What I mean by this is, when you use the standard word for MOM, DAD, SISTER, etc. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ When you use diminutive words like MOMMY, DADDY, SISSY (little sister) etc, you MUST use the ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ article along with the Possessive Adjective. ​ Mio padre My dad Il mio paparino My daddy

In Italian, BOYFRIEND, GIRLFRIEND, FIANCE, PETS, are not considered family. So, you must use the article along with the Possessive Adjective ​ ​ Il mio ragazzo My boyfriend La mia ragazza My girlfriend Il mio fidanzato My fiance (male) ​ La mia fidanzata My fiance (female) ​ Il mio cane My dog

Another Italian word where we drop the article when using Possessive Adjectives is: CASA ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (HOUSE). ​ ​

Not only do we drop the article, but we also put the possessive AFTER the word CASA. If you put ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ the possessive before CASA, it will sound like a mistake to Italians. ​ ​ ​ ​

Ti piace casa mia? Do you like my house? Stasera veniamo a casa tua? Are we going to your house tonight? Casa nostra è grande Our house/home is big

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Possessive Pronouns

How are Possessive PRONOUNS different from Possessive ADJECTIVES?

Italian possessive pronouns correspond to the English: MINE, YOURS, HERS, etc. But unlike ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ English which has a whole set of different words to express these possessive pronouns, in Italian ​ ​ possessive pronouns are the same as the possessive adjectives! ​ ​ ​ In order to make the words for possessive adjectives (MIA, TUA, SUA, etc) possessive pronouns, ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ we simply do not state the noun.

Il mio libro My book (uses possessive adjective) ​ Il mio Mine (this is the possessive pronoun, where BOOK is implied) ​ ​ ​ Notice, we still (always) keep the article! Again, Possessive Pronouns KEEP the article. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Examples: Prendiamo la mia macchina o la tua? Are we taking my car or yours? ​ ​ ​ ​ Prendiamo la macchina mia o la tua? Are we taking my car or yours? ​ ​ ​ ​ Mia madre non viene, e la tua? My mom isn’t coming, is yours? ​ ​ ​ ​

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Keeping the article becomes optional only in ONE condition: ​ ​ ​ ​ When the possessive pronoun is used right after the verb TO BE (ESSERE). ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Prendiamo la mia macchina o la tua? Are we taking my car or yours? ​ ​ ​ ​ I CANNOT SAY: *prendiamo la mia macchina o tua?

If we are not using the verb ESSERE, we must keep the article. ​ ​ ​ But... Questa penna è la tua? Is this pen yours? ​ ​ ​ Questa penna è tua? Is this pen yours? ​ ​ ​ I miei libri sono questi. Quelli sono (i) vostri. These books are mine. Those are yours. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ When the verb TO BE (ESSERE) preceded the possessive pronoun, you have a choice whether ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ or not you want to use the article with the pronoun. ​ ​

Practice

Now that we remember what Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns are, here is a way you can ​ ​ ​ ​ practice them from home, the office, or wherever else you frequent!

● Find an object around you ● Pick an owner for the object ● Make a sentence ● Contrast with another owner

Example: IO, LAMPADA, TU I, LAMP, YOU ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ La mia lampada è bella My lamp is beautiful Anche la tua And so is yours

Oggi leggo il mio libro Today I will read my book Domani leggo il tuo Tomorrow i’ll read yours

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Questi fogli sono miei o tuoi? Are these papers mine or yours? Questi fogli sono i miei o i tuoi? Are these papers mine or yours?

In these last two examples we were able to drop or keep the Definite Article alongside the ​ ​ Possessive Pronoun because the pronouns came right after the verb ESSERE. ​ ​ ​ Good luck! And remember to ask any questions you may have in the forum! :)

Your Notes

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