Possessive adjectives indicate a material possession, an emotional relationship, a spiritual belonging, a cherished habit, etc.
- Fatemi vedere i vostri quaderni (i quaderni appartengono a voi).
- Show me your notebooks (the notebooks belong to you).
- Gianni mi ha prestato il suo ombrello (è Gianni che possiede l’ombrello).
- Gianni lent me his umbrella (it’s Gianni who owns the umbrella)
The possessive adjectives that we use before the name are determined by the number and gender of the name itself. For example, if the name is [la macchina (the car)], which is feminine singular, then the possessive adjectives that we will use are the ones ending with (a), which represent the ending of a feminine singular noun. The root of the possessive adjective (mi-tu-su-nostr-vostr) indicates to whom the name belongs.
- La mi-a macchina my car.
- La tu-a macchina your car.
- La su-a macchina his or her car.
- La nostr-a macchina our car.
- La vostr-a macchina your car for plural.
- La loro macchina their car.
| Masculine singular definite article | Masculine singular possessive pronoun | Masculine singular noun |
| Il | mio tuo suo nostro vostro loro | libro appartamento professore |
| Masculine plural definite article | Masculine plural possessive pronoun | Masculine plural noun |
| I | miei tuoi suoi nostri vostri loro | libri appartamenti professori |
| Feminine singular definite article | Feminine singular possessive pronoun | Feminine singular noun |
| La | mia tua sua nostra vostra loro | macchina amica chiave |
| Feminine plural definite article | Feminine plural possessive pronoun | Feminine plural noun |
| Le | mie tue sue nostre vostre loro | macchine amiche chiavi |
As you can see, possessive adjectives agree with nouns in gender and number. (Loro) however, is an invariable form.
- La mia città è bella.
- My city is beautiful.
- Le sue abitudini sono meravigliose.
- His habits are wonderful.
- Il loro momento di riposo non termina mai.
- Their moment of rest never ends.
Normally the possessive adjective is preceded by the article.
- I miei amici, il tuo libro, i suoi interessi, la mia macchina, ecc.
- My friends, your book, his interests, my car, etc.
Normally, the article is omitted before the name of family member in the SINGOLAR.
- Carlo, come sta tua moglie?
- Carlo, how is your wife?
- Mio padre, tuo zio, sua cugina.
- My father, your uncle, his cousin.
- I miei genitori, i loro zii, le sue cugine.
- My parents, their uncles, her cousins.
Exception with “Loro”, the article is always used in the singular.
- Ernesto e Fernanda hanno scritto al loro zio.
- Ernesto and Fernanda wrote to their uncle.
- Il loro cognato, la loro zia, il loro nipote, ecc.
- Their brother-in-law, their aunt, their nephew, etc.
The article is not used in particular phrases or expressions such as:
- A suo piacere (at their pleasure)
- A vostro vantaggio (to your advantage)
- A loro insaputa (without their knowledge)
- Mio malgrado (in spite of me)
Next lesson:
Gli aggettivi possessivi 2 / Possessive adjectives 2.