The answer to the question "Di chi è il libro?" ("Whose book is this?") can be:
a) Mio.
(Mine)
b) È mio. (It is mine)
c) È il mio libro. ( It is my book)
"Mio" indicates the owner of the book and is called possessive. Possessives can be:
1) Nouns
| I miei | My parents |
| Oggi vado a pranzo dai miei | Today I am having lunch at my parents' |
| Il mio | What is mine |
| Dammi ciò che è mio | Give me what is mine |
| Dire la mia | Say what I think |
| Uno dei nostri | One of us |
| Arrivano i nostri | Help is on the way |
| Dalla mia | On my side |
| L'ultima mia | My last letter |
| Una delle sue | (Up to) his/her usual tricks |
| Ognuno ha le sue | Everyone has his/her own troubles |
| Stare sulle sue | To keep aloof |
2) Adjectives
| La mia patente è scaduta. | My driver license expired. |
| Ho visto tutti i suoi film. | I saw all his movies. |
3) Pronouns
| Di chi è questo libro? Mio. | Whose book is this? Mine. |
Unlike English, Italian requires that possessive adjectives and pronouns agree in gender and number with the object owned and not with the the owner/s. In that sense, possessives are just like any other adjective.
| Conosci mia sorella, mio fratello, i miei cugini? | Do you know my sister, my brother, my cousins? |
| Ho letto le sue novelle ma non i suoi romanzi. | I read her short stories but not her novels. |
For possessives referring to a the third person singular ("lui" or "lei"), we can use the expressions "di lui" (his) and " di lei" (hers) in order to avoid any ambiguity or when it is necessary to make the distinction between a male and a female owner.
Examples:
| Questo è il suo passaporto e questa è la sua patente. | This is his/her passport and this is his/her driver license. |
| Questo è il passaporto di lei e questa è la patente di lui. | This is her passport and this is his driver license. |
| Prendo la macchina di lui, non quella di lei. | I'll take his car, not hers. |
| Singular | Plural | |||
| person | masculine | feminine | masculine | feminine |
| 1 person singular | mio | mia | miei | mien |
| 2 person singular | tuo | tua | tuoi | tue |
| 3 person singular | suo | sua | suoi | sue |
| 1 person plural | nostro | nostra | nostri | nostre |
| 2 person plural | vostro | vostra | vostri | vostre |
| 3 person plural | loro | loro | loro | loro |
Unlike their English equivalents, Italian possessive adjectives and pronouns have the same forms.
It is worth noting that the English genitive construction with " 's " is expressed in Italian with "di" followed by the noun indicating the possessor. Example:
| Mary's book | Il libro di Maria |
In Italian, possessive adjectives are not used when a reflexive verb or a personal pronoun clearly identifies the possessor. This is true, for example, when referring to body parts or clothes one is wearing. Compare the following English expressions using possessive adjectives to their Italian equivalents using reflexive or personal pronouns:
| English with possessive adjective | Italian without possessive adjective |
| Wash your hands! | Lavati le mani. |
| He took off his hat. | Si è tolto il cappello. |
| I cut my finger. | Mi sono tagliato il dito. |
| I cut her hair. | Le ho tagliato i capelli. |
| They stole his car. | Gli hanno rubato la macchina. |
Generally speaking possessive adjectives precede the noun they modify.
Example:
| La mia macchina | My car |
Here is a list of expressions where the possessive follows the noun.
| Expressions where the possessive follows the noun | English |
| Casa mia | My house; home; home, sweet home |
| Di testa sua | His/Her own way |
| A modo suo | In his/her way |
| Vado a casa mia | I am going home |
| Fuori di casa mia | Out of my house |
| In casa mia | In my home |
| A parer mio | In my opinion |
| Parola mia | Believe me |
| Per causa tua | Through your fault |
| Per colpa sua | Through his/her fault |
| Mamma mia! | Oh my! |
| Dio mio, Gesù mio, Madonna mia | My God, Holy Mary, etc. |
| Tesoro mio | Sweetheart |
| Ragazzo mio | My boy |
| Caro mio | My dear |
| Amico mio | My friend |
| Roba mia | My stuff |
| Fatti suoi | It's his/her problem |
| Affari tuoi | It's your business |
| In vece mia | Instead of me |
| Fallo per amor mio | Do it for my sake |
Generally, possessive adjectives and pronouns are preceded by the definite or the indefinite article (this is always true with the form loro).
| I miei amici | My friends |
| Ho conosciuto un suo amico. | I met one of her friends. |
| La tua stanza è più grande della sua. | Tour room is larger than his. |
| Non conosco i loro amici. | I don't know their friends. |
Note that they can also be preceded by:
- Numerals (due miei amici)
- Demonstratives (questi amici miei = these friends of mine),
- Expressions of quantity (molti miei amici = many friends of mine)
- Indefinites (ogni mio amico = every single friend of mine)
- Interrogatives (quale mio amico? = which friend of mine?).
| Mio padre | my father |
| Mio padre adottivo | my stepfather |
| Mia madre | my mother |
| Mia madre adottiva | my stepmother |
| Mio fratello | my brother |
| Mia sorella | my sister |
| Mio fratello adottivo | my stepbrother |
| Mia sorella adottiva | my stepsister |
| Mio fratello maggiore/minore | my older/younger brother |
| Mia sorella maggiore/minore | my older/younger sister |
| Mio cugino | my cousin |
| Mio/mia nipote | my niece, my nephew |
| Mio/mia pronipote | my grandnephew, my grandniece |
| Mio nonno | my grandfather |
| Mia nonna | my grandmother |
| Mio bisnonno | my great grandfather |
| Mia bisnonna | my great grandmother |
| Mio cognato | my brothering law |
| Mia cognata | my sister in law |
| Mio zio | my uncle |
| Mio zia | my aunt |
| Mio figlio | my son |
| Mia figlia | my daughter |
| Mio genero | my son in law |
| Mia nuora | my daughter in law |
| Mia suocera | My mother in law |
| Mio suocero | My father in law |
Note that the article is used with other names indicating family ties or relationships, as well as with the nouns listed above, when used in the plural or modified by an adjective or by a suffix. See the following list.
| La mia figliola | My daughter |
| Il mio figliolo | My son |
| La mia sorellina | My little sister |
| Il mio fidanzato | My fiancé |
| Il mio ragazzo | My boyfriend |
| La mia compagna | My mate |
| Il mio amante | My lover |
| Il mio uomo | My man |
| La mia donna | My woman |
| Il mio patrigno | My stepfather |
| La mia matrigna | My stepmother |
| Il mio fratellastro | My stepbrother |
| La mia sorellastra | My stepsister |
| La mia ex moglie | My ex-wife |
| Il mio ex marito | My ex-husband |
| Il mio partner | My partner |
| La mia bella moglie | My beautiful wife |
| I miei cari cugini | My dear cousins |
Babbo (dad) and mamma (mom) can be used with or without the article.
Examples of idioms with no article:
| Non ho sue notizie | I didn't hear from him/her |
| A suo tempo | At the right time |
| Di mio (tuo,suo ecc.) gradimento | To my (your, his/her, etc.) liking |
| A mia (tua ecc.) difesa | In my (your, etc.) defense |
| In mio aiuto | To help me |
Tuo, Suo, Vostro can be used as a closing of letter.
Example: Tuo Claudio Yours Claudio
There are two more forms of possessives: altrui and proprio. Proprio can be used:
1) To reinforce the meaning of the possessive
Example: L'ho fatto con le mie proprie mani. --> I made it with my own hands.
[In this case, we can also use stesso: "L'ho fatto con le mie stesse mani."]
2) To avoid ambiguity in the third person
Example: Maria disse a Claudio che andava con la propria macchina. --> Mary told Claudio that she was going with her own car.
3) After indefinite pronouns
Example: Ognuno ha la propria opinione. Everyone has his/her opinion.
[Be careful! In this case, stesso cannot be used, because the meaning will change:
Ognuno ha la stessa opinione. --> Everyone has the same opinion.]
4) In impersonal constructions
Un genitore è pronto a sacrificare tutto per i propri figli. --> A parent is ready to sacrifice everything for his children.
Altrui always refers to something belonging to others. It is invariables usually follows the noun.
Example: Non preoccuparti delle opinioni altrui. --> Don't worry about other people's opinion.
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