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Michael San Filippo co-wrote The Complete Idiot's Guide to Italian History and Culture. He is a tutor of Italian language and culture.
Updated on November 22, 2019Italian possessive pronouns (pronomi possessivi) serve the same function of their English counterparts: They replace a noun previously used with a possessive adjective (aggettivo possessivo) in order to avoid repetition. They translate to the English "mine," "yours," “his," "hers," "yours," and "theirs":
The latter is the possessive pronoun.
Just like their fellow possessive adjectives, possessive pronouns must agree in number and gender with the noun they replace (the thing whose possession we are discussing) and are accompanied by the appropriate definite article (articolo determinativo), also in agreement, or articulated proposition (if there is also a preposition).
If you are introducing someone else's possession into the sentence with a proper name (mine, yours, and Giulia's, for example), you need to use the regular Italian possessive di with the pronome dimostrativo quello/a/i/e or you need to repeat the noun.
In a particular set of constructs or expressions, possessive pronouns stand in for nouns that go completely unmentioned and whose meaning or presence, because of longstanding use in those particular contexts, is understood. In other words, rather than standing in for a noun, they replace it without any need for the noun to be mentioned at all. If it feels like something is missing, it's because it is.
In certain contexts, the masculine singular possessive pronoun form il mio, il tuo, il suo, etc., implies ciò che appartiene a me, or ciò che spetta a me—my stuff, that which belongs to me, or my due.
And there is the famous saying, A ciascuno il suo. To each his own.
As you can see, there is no noun to say ciò che appartiene a me; the pronoun does it.
With the verb fare, in the masculine plural i miei, i tuoi, etc. can be used to mean business (affari, fatti, or cavoli, a euphemism for one's private matters). In other words, to mind your or someone's business.
In talking about family members you use the masculine plural possessive pronoun (i miei, i tuoi, etc.) to mean parents or relatives generally (or cari, dear ones). Vivo con i miei means, I live with my parents, without mention of parents.
It can also indicate supporters or troops related to battles, rivalries, or games.
In correspondence, the feminine singular possessive pronoun (la mia, la tua, la sua) implies the word "letter":
Used generally with the verbs essere and stare, the singular feminine possessive pronoun mia or tua stands in for parte, which means "side," as in being on someone's side. Sto dalla tua parte: sto dalla tua. I am on your side.
The parte or side is entirely understood from the context.
Used with the verbs dire (to say), fare (to do/pull), or combinare (do/pull), possessive pronouns are used in the expressions una delle mie (one of mine), una delle tue (one of yours), una delle sue (one of his/hers), and so forth, to reference something peculiar to that person; something for which that person is known for doing or saying—sort of like an MO. It can mean behaving in a particular way, or saying something outrageous, but it remains unspoken, covered by the pronoun. The specific meaning is known to the insiders in the conversation.
Used with the verb dire, the feminine singular possessive mia, tua, sua, etc., refers to opinione: We are talking here about expressing an opinion without mentioning the opinion at all.
And, of course, when toasting to someone's health or salute:
It is understood that that is what we are toasting to.
Cite this Article Your CitationFilippo, Michael San. "Italian Possessive Pronouns." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/italian-possessive-pronouns-2011455. Filippo, Michael San. (2023, April 5). Italian Possessive Pronouns. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/italian-possessive-pronouns-2011455 Filippo, Michael San. "Italian Possessive Pronouns." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/italian-possessive-pronouns-2011455 (accessed September 9, 2024).
copy citation Foundations of Grammar in Italian Learn Italian Possessive Adjectives How to Use Italian Personal Pronouns How to Use Italian Reflexive Pronouns How to Use Italian Possessive Adjectives Using Italian Reflexive Pronouns Using Italian Indefinite Pronouns The 6 Forgotten Italian Subject Pronouns Indirect Object Pronouns in Italian Italian Relative Pronouns Direct Object Pronouns in Italian Italian Language Lessons: Italian Interrogative Pronouns Double Object Pronouns in Italian: Pronomi Combinati Italian Direct Object Pronouns With Passato Prossimo Articulated Prepositions in Italian Italian Definite ArticlesWe and our 100 partners store and/or access information on a device, such as unique IDs in cookies to process personal data. You may accept or manage your choices by clicking below, including your right to object where legitimate interest is used, or at any time in the privacy policy page. These choices will be signaled to our partners and will not affect browsing data.
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