In order to choose the correct possessive pronoun, you must determine the gender and number<\/a> of the noun or nouns that you want to replace. These include singular feminine, singular masculine, plural feminine or plural masculine.<\/p>\n If you want to replace the Italian noun borsa<\/em> (purse) in the sentence below, you need to use a singular feminine possessive pronoun.<\/p>\n For example:<\/p>\n La borsa non \u00e8 la mia borsa, \u00e8 la sua borsa.<\/em> \u2192\u00a0Non \u00e8 la mia<\/strong>, \u00e8 la sua<\/strong>. The possessive pronouns above are mia<\/em><\/strong> and sua<\/em><\/strong> because they’re replacing the singular feminine noun borsa<\/em>.<\/p>\n If you’re referring to one libro <\/em>(book), you’d replace it with:<\/p>\n Non \u00e8 il mio<\/strong>, \u00e8 il suo<\/strong>. You use\u00a0mio<\/strong><\/em> and suo<\/strong> <\/em>because you’re replacing the singular masculine noun libro<\/em>.<\/p>\n If you’re referring to more than one borse<\/em> (purses) in Italian, you’d say:<\/p>\n Non sono le mie<\/strong>, sono le sue<\/strong>. You use\u00a0mie<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0and sue<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>because you’re replacing the plural feminine noun borse<\/em>.<\/p>\n If you’re referring to more than one libri<\/em> (books)\u00a0<\/em>in Italian, you’d say:<\/p>\n Non sono i miei<\/strong>, sono i suoi<\/strong>. You say miei<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0and suoi<\/strong> <\/em>because you’re replacing the plural masculine noun libri<\/em>.<\/p>\n In Italian, possessive pronouns are preceded by definite articles<\/a>:\u00a0i,\u00a0il, i, la, le, gli, lo, l’.<\/em><\/p>\n The article must always agree in gender and quantity with the noun.<\/strong><\/p>\n Before selecting the correct possessive pronoun and article in Italian, you must ask yourself:<\/p>\n Using our examples from above, take notice of the definite articles that come before each possessive pronoun:<\/p>\n Non \u00e8 la\u00a0<\/strong>mia, \u00e8 la<\/strong> sua. Non sono i<\/strong> miei, sono i<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>suoi.<\/em> Don\u2019t forget that there are three ways to say \u201cyou\u201d<\/a> in Italian.<\/p>\n You use tu<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0for speaking to friends and close family.<\/p>\n You use\u00a0Lei<\/strong> <\/em>when speaking to superiors.<\/p>\n You use\u00a0voi<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>when speaking to more than one person.<\/p>\n If you need to say, \u201cthis is my book, that is yours\u201d in Italian, you need to first consider your audience.<\/p>\n If it\u2019s a friend, you can say:<\/p>\n Questo \u00e8 il mio<\/strong> libro, quello \u00e8 il tuo<\/strong><\/em>. You use\u00a0tuo<\/em><\/strong> because the audience is one friend and the book is masculine and singular.<\/p>\n However, if the audience is your boss, you should say:<\/p>\n Questo \u00e8 il mio<\/strong> libro, quello \u00e8 il Suo<\/strong>. S<\/em>uo<\/em><\/strong> is the possessive pronoun for Lei<\/em>, and is used in formal situations.<\/p>\n Lastly, if you’re speaking to a group of people about their collective book, you’d say:<\/p>\n Questo \u00e8 il mio<\/strong> libro, quello \u00e8 il vostro<\/strong>. You use the plural possessive pronoun\u00a0vostro<\/strong><\/em> because you’re speaking to more than one person.<\/p>\n Selecting the correct possessive pronoun for “his” and “hers” in Italian can be a bit confusing, especially for native English speakers.<\/p>\n We select the third-person possessive pronoun based on the gender of the owner in English<\/strong>.<\/p>\n In Italian, we select the third-person possessive pronoun based on the gender of the object that’s owned<\/strong>.<\/p>\n For example, if you’re referring to a car owned by a man and you want to say \u201cit\u2019s his” in Italian, you’d say:<\/p>\n \u00c8 la sua<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n You use the singular feminine possessive pronoun, sua<\/strong> <\/em>because the gender for the word macchina <\/em>(car), is feminine.<\/p>\n On the other hand, if you’re referring to a book owned by a woman and you want to say \u201cit\u2019s hers” in Italian, you’d say:<\/p>\n \u00c8 il suo<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n You use the singular masculine pronoun, suo<\/strong><\/em> because the gender for the word\u00a0libro <\/em>(book) is masculine.<\/p>\n Just remember, the gender for the possessive pronoun in Italian doesn’t reflect the gender of the possessor but rather the possession<\/strong>.<\/p>\n It’s also important to note the difference between possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives<\/a>.<\/p>\n A possessive pronoun replaces a noun<\/strong>. A possessive adjective modifies a noun<\/strong>.<\/p>\n For example:<\/p>\n \u00c8 la mia<\/strong> borsa. Here, mia <\/em><\/strong>is a possessive adjective because it’s modifying the noun purse.<\/p>\n However, in the phrase, “it’s mine,” you remove the noun entirely and replace it with a pronoun.<\/p>\n \u00c8 la mia<\/strong>. Here, mia <\/em><\/strong>is a possessive pronoun because it replaces the noun borsa<\/em> (purse).<\/p>\n In Italian, the word may be the same for the possessive pronoun and the possessive adjective, but the contextual use is different.<\/p>\n With 24 possessive pronouns in Italian, practice is a must!<\/p>\n Possessive pronouns require habitual daily use<\/strong> in order for them to become second nature.<\/p>\n Below are some practice methods that will help you make Italian possessive pronouns a natural part of your everyday Italian speech.<\/p>\n To help review the possessive pronouns in the chart above, try this game:<\/p>\n So, if you selected a flock of geese and a man, then you’d want to say, “They are his,” in Italian.<\/p>\n The correct answer would be\u00a0sono le sue<\/em>. You use the plural feminine possessive pronoun because the word for geese (oche<\/em>) is feminine in Italian.<\/p>\n The possessor and possession combinations may be absurd, but that’s part of the fun!<\/p>\n You can also try practicing with classmates and adding “you” and “I” into the mix.<\/p>\n A good old-fashioned love song is often full of possessive pronouns!<\/p>\n Probably because most of the singers are possessed (by love): “He’s mine!” or “My heart is hers!”<\/p>\n An effective way to use music as a language learning and practicing resource<\/a> is to utilize both the written lyrics and the audio at the same time.<\/p>\n One lovely Italian love song that you can use to practice listening for and identifying possessive pronouns is “Tua per Sempre”<\/a><\/em> by Elisa.<\/p>\n Besides music videos, you can watch other authentic Italian videos to practice identifying possessive pronouns.<\/p>\n Italian TV shows<\/a> and movies<\/a> are great for this kind of practice as you’re bound to come across examples of possessives in action.<\/p>\n For added comprehension, you could also try using an immersive language learning program like FluentU<\/a>.<\/p>\n FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\nSingular Feminine<\/h3>\n
\n<\/em>(The purse isn\u2019t my purse, it\u2019s her purse.) \u2192 (It isn\u2019t mine, it\u2019s hers.)<\/p>\nSingular Masculine<\/h3>\n
\n<\/em>(It isn\u2019t mine, it\u2019s hers.)<\/p>\nPlural Feminine<\/h3>\n
\n<\/em>(They’re not mine, they’re hers.)<\/p>\nPlural Masculine<\/h3>\n
\n<\/em>(They’re not mine, they’re hers.)<\/p>\nItalian Possessive Pronoun and Definite Article Agreement<\/h2>\n
\n
\n<\/em>(It isn\u2019t mine, it\u2019s hers.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(They’re not mine, they’re hers.)<\/p>\nOther Important Notes About Italian Possessive Pronouns<\/h2>\n
The Three Forms of Yours<\/h3>\n
\n(This is my book, that is yours.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(This is my book, that is yours.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(This is my book, that is yours.)<\/p>\nHis and Hers: Common Mistakes<\/h3>\n
Possessive Pronouns Versus Possessive Adjectives<\/h3>\n
\n<\/em>(It\u2019s my purse.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>(It\u2019s mine.)<\/p>\nHow to Practice Italian Possessive Pronouns<\/h2>\n
Play a Game<\/h3>\n
\n
Listen to Music<\/h3>\n
Watch Videos<\/h3>\n
![\"FluentU](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/try-fluentu-for-free.jpg\")
\r\n