Use of Definite Articles with Possessive Adjectives

Use of Definite Articles with Possessive Adjectives

Mom and dad, your brothers and sisters, grandpa and your Aunt Millie. They're all special people, and so there's a rule just for them. In the plural form, the Italian definite article will appear before the Italian possessive adjective that refers to a family member or relative. For example, instead of saying "my brothers," you are literally saying "the my brothers."

The table below contains other examples:

USE OF ITALIAN DEFINITE ARTICLES WITH POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES

Mio fratello è carino.	(My brother is cute.)
I miei fratelli sono carini.	(My brothers are cute)
Questo è tuo zio.	(This is your uncle)
Questi sono i tuoi zii.	(These are your uncles.)
Mia nonna è vecchia.	(My grandmother is old.)
Le mie nonne sono vecche.	(My grandmothers are old.)
Mio cugino è straordinario.	(My cousin is exceptional.)
I miei cugini sono straordinari.	(My cousins are exceptional.)

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Possessive Adjectives(所有形容詞)

Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives are those that indicate possession or ownership. They correspond to the English "my," "your," "his," "her," "its," "our," and "their." The Italian possessive adjectives are also preceded by definite articles and agree in gender and number with the noun possessed, not with the possessor. The table below provides a chart of possessive adjectives (aggettivi possessivi) in Italian.

POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES

	MASCULINE SINGULAR	FEMININE SINGULAR	MASCULINE PLURAL	FEMININE PLURAL
my	il mio	la mia	i miei	le mie
your (of tu)	il tuo	la tua	i tuoi	le tue
your (of Lei)	il Suo	la Sua	i Suoi	le Sue
his, her, its	il suo	la sua	i suoi	le sue
our	il nostro	la nostra	i nostri	le nostre
your (of voi)	il vostro	la vostra	i vostri	le vostre
your (of Loro)	il Loro	la Loro	i Loro	le Loro
their	il loro	la loro	i loro	le loro

As a rule, the Italian possessive adjectives are preceded by definite articles:

la mia camicia (my shirt)
il nostro amico (our friend)
i vostro vicini (your neighbor)
i suoi libri (his/her books)

One exception is made for idiomatic phrases such as these:

a casa mia (my house)
è colpa sua (it's his/her fault)
è merito tuo (it's your merit)
piacere mio (my pleasure)

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