Italian Gone Sexy (IGS)

BEGINNERS-INTERMEDIATE: Lezione 23-Possessive adjectives

Heii! Ben tornato! :) (Welcome back!)

And above all, congratulations for having made it through to the intermediate level!

This shouldn't be so hard... but do expect a lot more things to learn.

Quindi (so) cominciamo!

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In previous lessons you saw the words 'mio' and 'miei', both meaning 'my'. These are known as 'possessive pronouns' or 'possessive adjectives'.

Now I'm going to teach you all the other possessive adjectives and show you how you use them:

my-mio

your-tuo

his/her/its-suo

our-nostro

your (pl.)-vostro

their-loro.

Being adjectives, they change endings depending on the object they describe, i.e masculine or feminine, singular or plural. *Loro is an exception and remains unvaried when used to describe.

Masculine singular- Masculine plural-

mio miei-pronounced 'myay'

tuo tuoi-pronounced 'twoy'

suo suoi-'swoy'

nostro nostri

vostro vostri

loro loro

Feminine singular- Feminine plural-

mia mie-'MEE-yeh'

tua tue-'TOO-weh'

sua sue-'SOO-weh'

nostra nostre

vostra vostre

loro loro.

I suppose it's time for a few examples, then exercise time!

My dog-Mio cane

Your bedroom-Tua camera (KA-meh-rah)

His brothers-Suoi fratelli

Her sisters-Sue sorelle

Its food-Suo cibo

Our Uncles-Nostri Zii (Dsee)

Your (pl.) Aunts-Vostre Zie (DSEE-yeh)

Their forests-Loro foreste (Unvaried)

*Just remember that it is more correct to add the article in Italian, unlike English where we would never say: 'This is the my dog'. In Italian though, you will usually hear this and see it written. However, not using the article is not incorrect, just not common.*

Il mio, il tuo, il suo, il nostro, il vostro, il loro/i miei, i tuoi, i suoi etc/la mia, la tua la sua etc/le mie, le tue, le sue etc.

And to use other possessive adjectives with different nouns just switch them around and use them accordingly!

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Exercise:

Aggettivi possessivi-Insert the correct possessive pronoun, then translate.

EX: ___ mamma (suo)-sua mamma-His mum.

1. ___ amici (mio)-

2. ___ ragazza (tuo)-

3. ___ cane (nostro)-

4. ___ letti (vostro)-

5. ___ casa (loro)-

Add the correct article, then translate:

EX: __ suo amico-. Answer: Il suo amico-His friend.

6. __ mio ragazzo-

7. __ tua mamma-

8. __ loro figlie (daughters)-

9. __ vostri amici-

10. __ suoi giardini-

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Risposte (answers):

1. Miei amici (mio)-my friends

2. Tua ragazza (tuo)-your girlfriend

3. Nostro cane (nostro)-our dog

4. Vostri letti (vostro)-your beds

5. Loro casa (loro)-their home/house.

Add the correct article, then translate:

6. Il mio ragazzo-my boyfriend

7. La tua mamma-your mum

8. Le loro figlie (daughters)-their daughters

9. I vostri amici-your friends

10. I suoi giardini-his/her gardens

How did you do? Did you get at least 12 right? If so, move on to the next chapter! :)