Il mio libro è sul tavolo e la tua borsa è qui.My book is on the table and your bag is here.
To say who something belongs to, Italian uses a possessive adjective (mio, tuo, suo...) together with the definite article: il mio libro, la mia casa. The article and the possessive (apart from invariable loro) agree in gender and number with the thing owned, not with the owner.
Quick shortcut: article + possessive + noun. The article and the possessive both match the noun (il mio libro, la mia casa, i miei libri, le mie case), except loro, which never changes.
The forms
| Owner | Masculine singular | Feminine singular | Masculine plural | Feminine plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| io (my) | il mio | la mia | i miei | le mie |
| tu (your) | il tuo | la tua | i tuoi | le tue |
| lui / lei (his, her) | il suo | la sua | i suoi | le sue |
| noi (our) | il nostro | la nostra | i nostri | le nostre |
| voi (your) | il vostro | la vostra | i vostri | le vostre |
| loro (their) | il loro | la loro | i loro | le loro |
Notice two things: the masculine plural of mio is miei (not ❌ mii), and loro has one form for everything (il loro libro, la loro casa, i loro libri, le loro case).
It agrees with the thing, not the owner
The possessive matches the noun that follows, so suo can mean "his" or "her":
- Marco ha il suo libro. (Marco has his book.) / Anna ha il suo libro. (Anna has her book.)
- La sua casa è grande. (His house / her house is big.)
- Le mie amiche sono qui. (My friends are here.) The speaker can be a man or a woman, and amiche decides the form.
Context normally shows who the owner is. For formal "your" with a person addressed as Lei, Italian uses suo too (il Suo libro, often written with a capital).
The article stays
Italian normally keeps the article before the possessive: il mio amico, la nostra casa. Compare English "my friend" with il mio amico.
- With un / una, the meaning is "a ... of mine": un mio amico (a friend of mine), una sua amica (a friend of his / hers).
- After essere, the article is often dropped when the possessive tells who something belongs to: Questo libro è mio. (This book is mine.) Quella borsa è tua? (Is that bag yours?)
- Family nouns follow their own pattern. See Possessives with family nouns.
Common mistakes
- ❌ mio libro → ✅ il mio libro (the article stays)
- ❌ il mia casa → ✅ la mia casa (the article matches casa)
- ❌ i mio libri → ✅ i miei libri
- ❌ i mii amici → ✅ i miei amici
- ❌ la suo casa → ✅ la sua casa
Quick check
Which article and possessive fit each gap?
- ____ (my) casa
- ____ (your, tu) libri
- ____ (his or her) amico
- ____ (our) amiche
- ____ (your, voi) macchina
- ____ (their) libri
- ____ (my) amici
- ____ (her) borsa
Show answers
- la mia 2. i tuoi 3. il suo 4. le nostre 5. la vostra 6. i loro 7. i miei 8. la sua
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Key takeaways
- Possessives are used with the definite article: il mio libro, la mia casa, i miei libri, le mie case.
- Article and possessive agree with the thing owned, not with the owner.
- Suo means "his" or "her" (and formal "your"); context shows who the owner is.
- Loro never changes: il loro, la loro, i loro, le loro.
- The masculine plural of mio is miei.
- With un / una the meaning is "of mine" (un mio amico); after essere the article is often dropped (È mio).
