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2.2
Grammatica
Possessive
Adjectives
AGGETTIVI
POSSESSIVI
Possessive
adjectives
in
Italian
must
agree
in
number
(singular
or
plural)
and
gender
(masculine
or
feminine)
with
the
noun
they
modify.
my
il
mio
la
mia
i
miei
le
mie
your
(s.)
il
tuo
la
tua
i
tuoi
le
tue
his
/
her
il
suo
la
sua
i
suoi
le
sue
our
il
nostro
la
nostra
i
nostri
le
nostre
your
(p.)
il
vostro
la
vostra
i
vostri
le
vostre
their
il
loro
la
loro
i
loro
le
loro
Notice
that
…
-‐ forms
in
bold
(i
miei,
i
tuoi,
i
suoi)
have
slightly
irregular
endings;
-‐ loro
is
invariable;
-‐ possessive
adjectives
are
used
with
the
definite
article
(see
exception
below):
il
mio,
la
tua,
i
suoi,
etc.
-‐ there
is
no
difference
in
Italian
between
his
and
her
because
the
gender
of
the
possessive
adjective
agrees
with
the
noun
that
follows
not
with
the
gender
of
the
“owner”.
Study
the
following
examples:
Le
sue
amiche
abitano
sul
campus.
His
/
Her
friends
(f.)
live
on
campus.
I
suoi
genitori
sono
molto
all’antica.
His
/
Her
parents
are
very
old-‐fashioned.
Qual
è
la
sua
macchina?
Which
is
his
/
her
car?
Ti
presento
le
mie
amiche
francesi
ed
i
miei
I
introduce
you
to
my
French
friends
(f.)
amici
tedeschi.
and
my
German
friends
(m.)
Dove
sono
i
loro
zaini?
Where
are
their
backpacks?
Ragazzi,
ecco
i
vostri
esami
corretti!
Guys,
here
are
your
corrected
exams!
Possessive
adjectives
with
names
of
relatives
Possessive
adjectives
(except
for
“loro”)
are
not
used
with
the
definite
article
before
names
of
relatives
in
the
singular.
Study
the
use
of
possessive
adjectives
with
the
noun
fratello
(brother)
and
fratelli
(brothers):
1
UNIT
2.2
Grammatica
Singular
noun
(fratello)
Plural
noun
(fratelli)
mio
fratello
my
brother
i
miei
fratelli
my
brothers
tuo
fratello
your
(s.)
brother
i
tuoi
fratelli
your
(s.)
brothers
suo
fratello
his
/
her
brother
i
suoi
fratelli
his
/
her
brothers
nostro
fratello
our
brother
i
nostri
fratelli
our
brothers
vostro
fratello
your
(p.)
brother
i
vostri
fratelli
your
(p.)
bothers
il
loro
fratello
their
brother
i
loro
fratelli
their
brothers
Now
study
the
names
of
relatives
in
the
following
examples.
Notice
that,
in
Italian,
we
have
the
same
word
for
granddaughter,
grandson,
niece
and
nephew:
mia
madre
/
mia
my
mother
/
my
mom
mamma
i
miei
genitori
my
parents
tuo
padre
/
tuo
papà
your
(s.)
father
/
your
dad
nostra
sorella
our
sister
le
nostre
sorelle
our
sisters
sua
nonna
his
/
her
grandmother
i
suoi
nonni
his
/
her
suo
nonno
his
/
her
grandfather
grandparents
vostro
zio
your
(p.)
uncle
i
vostri
zii
your
(p.)
uncles
la
loro
zia
their
aunt
le
loro
zie
their
aunts
mia
nipote
my
niece
/
my
le
mie
nipoti
my
nieces
/
my
granddaughter
granddaughter
vostro
nipote
your
(p.)
nephew
/
i
vostri
nipoti
your
(p.)
nephews
/
grandson
grandsons
sua
cognata
his
/
her
sister-‐in-‐law
le
sue
cognate
his
/
her
sisters-‐in-‐law
nostro
cognato
our
brother-‐in-‐law
i
nostri
cognati
our
brothers-‐in-‐law
If
the
name
of
the
relative
is
modified
by
an
adjective
or
by
the
suffixes
–ino
or
–ina
(the
diminutive
for
nouns
meaning
“little”
or
“small”),
then
the
possessive
adjective
takes
the
article
also
in
the
singular.
Compare:
Non-‐modified
by
an
adjective
Modified
by
an
adjective
or
by
a
suffix
(-‐ino,
-‐ina)
mia
sorella
la
mia
cara
sorella
(my
dear
sister)
la
mia
sorellina
(my
little
sister)
mio
fratello
il
mio
fratellino
(my
little
brother)
2