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Meet the definite article — the many little words for "the" in Italian
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Learn how to use the extremely important verb: essere (to be)
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How to use the verb "avere"(to have)
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Taking everything (-ere verbs)
Discover why the verb prendere is like George Clooney, and learn how to use verbs ending in -ere
Time concepts
How to say early, late, sometimes, never and other time concepts in Italian.
Possessive adjectives
How to use all those little words that say whether it's his cookie, her cookie, their cookie, or your cookie.

Italian possessive adjectives

How to say 'MY', 'YOUR', 'HIS', 'HER', 'THEIR', and 'OUR' in Italian

You can't disown that pile of poop in the park unless you know how to say "that's not my poop!". So let's look at Italian possessive adjectives, which will let you say if it's her poop, your poop, or their poop.

(Fair warning: Before you dive into this lesson, I recommend you take a look at my lesson on the definite article, a.k.a How to say "the", because this lesson needs a few "the" words as well.)

In Italian, the possessive adjective you changes according to two things:

  • Whether you're talking about a single thing, or more than one thing (single vs plural)
  • Whether you're talking about a masculine or feminine noun

Here are all your options:

Possessive adjectives

Masculine
(Singular)
my
mio
your
tuo
his/her/its
suo
our
nostro
your
vostro
their
loro
feminine
(Singular)
my
mia
your
tua
his/her/its
sua
our
nostra
your
vostra
their
loro
Masculine
(Plural)
my
miei
your
tuoi
his/her/its
suoi
our
nostri
your
vostri
their
loro
feminine
(Plural)
my
mie
your
tue
his/her/its
sue
our
nostre
your
vostre
their
loro

As you can see from the above Mildly Intimidating Table™, there are quite a few more possessive adjectives to master than the paltry eight we have in English. 

Italian possessive adjectives agree in gender (masculine/feminine) and in number (singular/plural) with the noun they refer to.

For instance, "horse" is a masculine noun, (regardless of the gender of the actual horse in question) so it uses the masculine mio and miei.

Play
il mio cavallo
My horse
Play
i miei cavalli
My horses

Cars, however, are always feminine. So when you're talking about your car or cars, you use the feminine versions, mia and mie.

Play
la mia macchina
My car
Play
le mie macchine
My cars

Did you notice those definite articles (words for "the) changing too? (il/i and la/le)

A possessive adjective (my, your, their) will usually come after the definite article (the). This is why I recommend you master the lesson on words for "the" first!

his / her / its

In English we say his to say something belongs to a man, and her to say it belongs to a woman.

In Italian there is no such distinction. Instead of "his house" or "her house" it's just "la sua casa" — regardless of whether the owner is a guy or a gal.

But it does change for the quantity.

Play
il suo gioco
his game / her game / its game
Play
i suoi giochi
his games / her games / its games
Play
la sua casa
his house / her house / its house
Play
le sue case
his houses / her houses / its houses

Your (one person)

Let's see it in action for your. I'll show you for both a masculine noun (table — tavolo) and a feminine noun (chair — sedia).

Play
il tuo tavolo
your table
Play
i tuoi tavoli
your tables
Play
la tua sedia
your chair
Play
le tue sedie
your chairs

Our

Our is also straightforward. I'll show you for both a masculine noun (bathroom — bagno) and a feminine noun (kitchen — cucina).

Play
il nostro bagno
our bathroom
Play
i nostri bagni
our bathrooms
Play
la nostra cucina
our kitchen
Play
le nostre cucine
our kitchens

Your (more than one person)

And your (i.e., more than one person) is also pretty easy. I'll show you for both a masculine noun (glass — bicchiere) and a feminine noun (bottle — bottiglia).

Play
il vostro bicchiere
your glass
Play
i vostri bicchieri
your glasses
Play
la vostra bottiglia
your bottle
Play
le vostre bottiglie
your bottles

Their

Most of these have been straightforward, but here comes the curve ball! The Italian word for "their" — "loro" doesn't change according to gender or quantity like all the others do. Check this out: 

Play
il loro divano
their sofa
Play
i loro divani
their sofas
Play
la loro televisione
their television
Play
le loro televisioni
their televisions

So how do you know if you're talking about a masculine/feminine/singular/plural thing? Just pay attention to the article in front of it ("il", "i", "la", "le").

More useful phrases

There's a lot to memorize in this lesson. Here are a few useful phrases to help cement your knowledge.

Play
La mia fidanzata mi ha regalato un prosciutto.
My girlfriend gave me a ham.
Play
Ho trovato una gallina nella tua macchina.
I've found a hen in your car.
Play
Mario ha parcheggiato la sua gondola in cortile.
Mario parked his gondola in the backyard.
Play
Il nostro panettone ha vinto il primo premio.
Our panettone won the first prize.
Play
Il vostro gatto è molto grasso.
Your cat is very fat.
Play
La loro casa è fatta di gelato.
Their house is made of ice cream.

You might also be interested in...

  • Italian articles — pronunciation, examples, and some useful testing tools
  • Italian prepositions — tables, examples and audio
  • A general introduction to Italian grammar rules
  • Children's stories in Italian
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Free Italian Lessons

Italian numbers
How to count from zero to one billion in Italian
Days of the week
How to say the days of the week in Italian
Months of the year
How to say the months of the year in Italian
How to say "The"
Meet the definite article — the many little words for "the" in Italian
Question words
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? How much? How many? How to ask questions in Italian
Talking about the family
Useful vocabulary for talking about your nearest and dearest
Asking directions
How to ask where something is, and words you might hear in response
To be (in love)
Learn how to use the extremely important verb: essere (to be)
To have (hunger)
How to use the verb avere (to have)
Going shopping (-are verbs)
How to use verbs that end in -are
Taking everything (-ere verbs)
How to use verbs with -ere endings
Time concepts
How to say early, late, sometimes, never and other time concepts in Italian.
Possessive adjectives
How to use all those little words that say whose cookie it is.
Adjectives Part 1: Agreement
How to get your adjectives to agree with the thing they're describing
Adjectives Part 2: Location
Where to put adjectives in a sentence so that you say that you mean to say.

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I Tre Porcellini
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Riccioli d’oro e i Tre Orsi
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Cappuccetto Rosso
Little Red Riding Hood

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