Easy Learning Italian Grammar (2011)
PRONOUNS
3. Possessive pronouns
What is a possessive pronoun?
In English the possessive pronouns are mine, yours, his, hers, ours and theirs. you use them instead of a possessive adjective followed by a noun. For example, instead of saying My bag is the blue one, you say Mine’s the blue one.
Here are the Italian possessive pronouns; they are exactly the same as Italian possessive adjectives, but with the definite article in front of them.
For more information on Possessive adjectives and the Definite article, see pages 34 and 11.
Singular |
Plural |
Meaning |
||
Masculine |
Feminine |
Masculine |
Feminine |
|
il mio |
la mia |
i miei |
le mie |
mine |
il tuo |
la tua |
i tuoi |
le tue |
yours (familiar) |
il suo |
la sua |
i suoi |
le sue |
his, hers, yours (polite) |
il nostro |
la nostra |
i nostri |
le nostre |
ours |
il vostro |
la vostra |
i vostri |
le vostre |
yours |
il loro |
la loro |
i loro |
le loro |
theirs |
Tip
There are three ways of saying yours, because there are three words for you – tu, lei and voi.
Questa borsa non è la mia, è la tua. |
This bag’s not mine, it’s yours. |
Non è il mio, è il suo, signore. |
It’s not mine, it’s yours, sir. |
La nostra casa è piccola, la vostra è grande. |
Our house is small, yours is big. |
I miei genitori e i suoi si conoscono. |
My parents and hers know each other. |
Note that i miei, i tuoi and i suoi are used to refer to someone’s parents.
Vivo con i miei. |
I live with my parents. |
Cosa hanno detto i tuoi? |
What did your parents say? |
Lucia è venuta con i suoi. |
Lucia came with her parents. |
In Italian, possessive pronouns agree with the noun they’re used instead of. For example, il mio can only be used to refer to a masculine singular noun.
Key points
Italian possessive pronouns are the same as Italian possessive adjectives.
They are masculine or feminine, singular or plural, depending on what they refer to.