How to Use Italian Possessive Adjectives: Simple Guide 📚 FREE PDF & Quiz

Ah, la lasagna di mia mamma non la batte nessuno! (Man, nobody can top my mom’s lasagna!). This passionate statement resonates deeply with Italians, capturing how much they value their family’s cooking traditions. But what’s the magic element that infuses such pride into these words? The answer lies in that tiny word, mia (my), a possessive adjective expressing possession and belonging.

Possessive adjectives are key elements of the language, helping us show who or what belongs to whom. Think of them as little linguistic labels, guiding us through the intricate maze of relationships and possessions – a vital aspect of learning Italian!

This guide will help you master Italian possessive adjectives in un batter d’occhio (in the blink of an eye). You’ll find lots of examples, essential grammar notes, and a fun quiz at the end to make sure you’ve got it down. But first, make sure to download your free PDF cheat-sheet, which includes a handy chart of Italian possessive adjectives and all the key points we’ll cover in this guide. Just enter your email below and I’ll send it to you straight away.

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What are possessive adjectives?

Possessive adjectives are a specific category of adjectives used to indicate ownership or possession of the noun they refer to. For instance, in the sentence Angela ha perso la sua borsa (Angela lost her bag), the word sua (her) functions as a possessive adjective, clarifying that the bag belongs to Angela.

These adjectives are also used to denote relationships between individuals. Like in the sentence Paolo e Andrea vivono nella vecchia casa dei loro genitori (Paolo and Andrea live in their parents’ old house), where the possessive adjective loro (their) connects Paolo and Andrea to the parents, showing they’re family.

Now, in English, we encounter these adjectives in eight forms (my, your, his/her/its, our, your, their), while – surprise, surprise – Italian offers a more nuanced range, which we are about to explore together.

What is the difference between Italian possessive adjectives and Italian possessive pronouns?

When indicating ownership, it’s crucial to distinguish between possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns. Although both express possession, they fulfill distinct grammatical functions. This differentiation becomes particularly significant in Italian, where possessive adjectives and pronouns share identical spellings, often raising a few eyebrows.

In essence, possessive adjectives precede a noun to specify the owner of the person or thing mentioned by that noun. On the other hand, possessive pronouns replace the noun to avoid redundancy. Take a look at this example:

Il mio cane si chiama Artù (My dog is named Artù) – here mio (my) acts as the possessive adjective, referring to the noun cane (dog) to indicate that the dog belongs to me
Come si chiama il tuo? (What’s yours called?) – here tuo (yours) is the possessive pronoun, eliminating the need to repeat cane (dog).

Now that we’ve clarified this aspect, let’s dive into the world of possessive adjectives in Italian and see how they do their thing in grammar! By the way, if you want to brush up Italian pronouns, check out this guide to Italian pronouns, especially the part about how to use Italian possessive pronouns.

Possessive Adjectives in Italian Chart

Let’s start our journey with this Italian possessive adjectives chart that you can refer to whenever you’re not sure which one to use:

Italian Possessive Adjectives
English possessive adjective	Singular		Plural
English possessive adjective	Masculine	Feminine	Masculine	Feminine
My	mio	mia	miei	mie
Your	tuo	tua	tuoi	tue
His, her, its, your (formal)	suo	sua	suoi	sue
Our	nostro	nostra	nostri	nostre
Your	vostro	vostra	vostri	vostre
Their	loro	loro	loro	loro

While in English, possessive adjectives agree with the owner, in Italian they agree in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) of the thing being possessed. Let’s clarify with an example:

Italian: Ho dato un passaggio a Chiara perchè la sua macchina è dal meccanico – here, the possessive adjective sua (her) ends with -a because macchina (car) is feminine, regardless of Chiara, the owner, being a woman.
English translation: I gave Chiara a ride because her car is at the mechanic’s – in English, we use the possessive adjective “her” because Chiara is a woman, not because “car” is feminine. If the car belonged to Alberto, we would write “his car” because Alberto is male.

An exception to this rule is the Italian possessive adjective for the third person plural (loro – their), which remains unchanged regardless of the gender or number of the noun it accompanies. For instance:

il loro spazio (the space), where “spazio” is singular masculine
la loro casa (their home), where “casa” is singular feminine
i loro libri (their books), where “libri” is plural masculine
le loro maestre (their teachers), where “maestre” is plural feminine

However, the lack of distinction between feminine or masculine possessors in Italian can lead to ambiguity in the third person singular. Let’s take a sentence like Paola ha incontrato Anna con suo marito (Paola met Anna with her husband): does suo (her) refer to Paola or Anna? To avoid confusion, in such instances one can say Paola ha incontrato Anna con il marito di lei (meaning Anna’s husband).

Another crucial aspect to consider is the Italian distinction between addressing someone informally (“dare del tu”) and formally (“dare del Lei”). In the formal form, you should use the possessive adjective in the third person singular (“suo”, “sua”, “suoi”, “sue” – always capitalized in writing). For example:

Professor Rossi, mi è molto piaciuto il Suo discorso oggi – Professor Rossi, I really enjoyed your speech today
Signora, aspetti, la aiuto con la Sua valigia – Madam, please wait, I’ll help you with your suitcase

How to position Italian possessive adjectives in a sentence

In Italian, possessive adjectives typically precede the noun they refer to:

Non trovo la mia giacca, chi l’ha presa? – I can’t find my jacket, who took it?
Ragazze, adoro il vostro stile! – Girls, I love your style!
Anna e Paolo sono in vacanza con i loro figli – Anna and Paolo are on holidays with their kids

Naturally, there are some exceptions when the possessive adjective is placed after the noun, including:

In exclamatory or evocative expressions, such as:

Figlio mio, non abbatterti! – Son, don’t get discouraged!
Amica mia, come farei senza di te! – My friend, what would I do without you!
Ragazzi miei, la vedo dura! – Guys, this is going to be tough!

When emphasizing the possessor/owner, for instance:

Errore mio, scusa – My mistake, sorry
Sono soldi suoi, decide lei come spenderli – It’s her money, she gets to choose how she spends it
Sono questioni vostre, io non ne voglio sapere niente – It’s your business, I don’t want to know anything about it

In certain fixed expressions like:

Sa il fatto suo – He/she knows his/her stuff
Da parte mia – As for me
In cuor suo – In his/her heart
Di testa loro – Of their own mind

Using articles with possessive adjectives in Italian

In Italian, unlike in English, possessive adjectives are typically preceded by an article – usually the definite article, but sometimes also the indefinite. Here are some examples:

Dov’è la tua macchina? – Where is your car?
Le presento i miei genitori – Let me introduce you to my parents
Ieri mi ha chiamato un tuo amico – Yesterday, one of your friends called me
Hanno ricevuto una lettera da una loro amica – They received a letter from a friend of theirs.

However, when talking about family, things get a bit special:

Possessive adjectives preceding singular family member names do not require an article, except in the third person plural. Here are some examples:

La tua madre – Your mother (with the exception of mamma – mom, which can either include or omit the article: mia mamma è bellissima or la mia mamma è bellissima – my mom is beautiful)
Il suo padre– Your father (with the exception of papà – dad, which can also include or omit the article: mio papà è speciale or il mio papà è speciale – my dad is special)
Il vostro zio – Your uncle
La loro nonna – Their grandmother
Il loro cugino – Their cousin

If the possessive adjective precedes a singular family member name that’s used as a term of endearment (like sorellona – big sister, zietta – auntie, etc.) or is accompanied by a qualifying adjective (i.e. an adjective expressing a quality or feature), then an article is needed before the possessive adjective:

La mia dolce zia – My sweet aunt
Il mio caro nonno – My dear grandfather
Il tuo fratellino – Your little brother
La sua nonnina – My granny

When talking about plural family member names, possessive adjectives always require the definite article:

Le mie nipoti – My nieces
I loro nonni – Their grandparents
I nostri fratelli – Our brothers
Questi sono i miei cugini con i loro figli Andrea e Riccardo – These are my cousins with their kids, Andrea and Riccardo

Other ways to indicate possession: “proprio” and “altrui”

Italian grammar adds an intriguing twist with two additional forms of possessive adjectives: proprio (own) and altrui (of someone else/of others).

Proprio (along with its variants propria, propri, proprie) can replace the possessive adjective of the third person singular or plural when the possessor is also the subject of the sentence. Here are some examples:

Ogni studente deve portare il proprio portatile (Every student needs to bring their own laptop) – here, the laptop belongs to the subject of the sentence (ogni studente – every student).
La prof ha chiesto a Maria di portare il ~~proprio~~ suo portatile (The teacher asked Maria to bring her laptop) – in this case, the the laptop belongs to Maria, but the subject of the sentence is la prof (the teacher), so we can’t use proprio.

Proprio is particularly useful to avoid ambiguity and misunderstandings regarding ownership. For instance, in the sentence Laura ha parlato con Alessia del suo fidanzato (Laura spoke with Alessia about her boyfriend), one might wonder whose suo (her) is referring to. So, you could say Laura ha parlato con Alessia del proprio fidanzato (Laura spoke with Alessia about her own boyfriend), thereby clarifying that it’s Laura’s boyfriend.

Moreover, it is preferable to use proprio instead of the third person singular and plural possessive adjectives when using an impersonal construction or when the subject is indefinite (such as chiunque – anyone, tutti – everyone, etc.). For example:

Ognuno ha i propri gusti – Everyone has their own tastes
Tutti hanno le proprie opinioni – Everyone has their own opinions
È importante riconoscere i propri limiti – It’s important to recognize one’s own limits
Non si può pensare solo al proprio tornaconto – You can’t just think about what’s good for you

Altrui, on the other hand, means “of someone else” or “of others” and usually indicates an indefinite possessor/owner. It’s invariable and is only used when the possessor does not coincide with the subject. It is placed after the noun it refers to. For example:

Non si devono giudicare le scelte altrui – One shouldn’t judge other people’s choices
Bisogna rispettare l’opinione altrui – We should respect other people’s opinions
Gestire i soldi altrui è una grande responsabilità – Managing other people’s money is a great responsibility
Non si usano le cose altrui senza permesso! – You can’t use other people’s stuff without asking!

When to avoid using possessive adjectives

Now that we’ve explored how to use possessive adjectives in Italian, let’s see where it’s best to avoid them. Because, while undeniably handy, possessive adjectives aren’t always essential, and can lead to redundancy in communication. There are two main instances where you shouldn’t use them:

Do not use possessive adjectives In sentences featuring reflexive verbs. Reflexive verbs inherently imply that the subject is acting upon themselves, therefore, including a possessive adjective would be redundant:

Mi pettino i capelli (literally, I’m combing myself the hair) – with the reflexive verb pettinarsi (to comb oneself), it’s already implicit that the hair being combed belongs to the subject. Thus, saying mi pettino ~~i miei~~ capelli (I comb myself my hair) is unnecessary.
Mi lavo la faccia (literally, I wash myself the face) – here, the reflexive verb lavarsi (to wash oneself) already conveys ownership, making mi lavo la ~~mia~~ faccia (I wash myself my face) redundant.

Unlike English, where body parts are typically indicated with possessive adjectives (my head, my leg, my arm etc.), Italian employs the definite article instead:

Non riesco a tenere gli occhi aperti (I can’t keep my eyes open – lit. I can’t keep the eyes open)
Mi fa male la testa (My head hurts – lit. The head hurts)

How well do you know possessive adjectives in Italian? Take the quiz!

Put your knowledge to the test with this fun quiz!

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How to Use Italian Possessive Adjectives: Simple Guide 📚 FREE PDF & Quiz

Master Italian possessive adjectives MIO, TUO, SUO, NOSTRO, VOSTRO and LORO with this step-by-step guide