🇮🇹 Hugo's Italian Grammar — Possessive Adjectives & Pronouns and Definite ArticleEdited for modern Italian
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| Possessive Adjectives & Pronouns and Definite Article Edited for modern Italian |
✏️ The Possessive Words
MY / MINE — il mio (masc sing), la mia (fem sing), i miei (masc plur), le mie (fem plur) — pronounced: mee-o, mee-ah, mee-ay-ee, mee-eh
THY / THINE — il tuo, la tua, i tuoi, le tue — pronounced: too-o, too-ah, two-ee, too-eh
HIS / HERS / ITS — il suo, la sua, i suoi, le sue — pronounced: soo-o, soo-ah, swo-ee, soo-eh
OUR / OURS — il nostro, la nostra, i nostri, le nostre — pronounced: noh-stro, noh-strah, noh-stree, noh-streh
YOUR / YOURS — il vostro, la vostra, i vostri, le vostre — pronounced: voh-stro, voh-strah, voh-stree, voh-streh
THEIR / THEIRS — il loro, la loro, i loro, le loro — pronounced: loh-roh
⚠️ Important: loro never changes form — it stays the same for all genders and numbers.
✏️ How They Work
Possessive words agree with the thing you own, not with the owner. That's the golden rule!
- my knife = il mio coltello (masculine noun → mio)
- my lessons = le mie lezioni (feminine plural → mie)
- his or her books = i suoi libri (masculine plural → suoi)
- our bag = la nostra sacca (feminine singular → nostra)
- their house = la loro casa
- their keys = le loro chiavi
- He has my ticket but not hers = Egli ha il mio biglietto, ma non il suo
Adjective vs Pronoun: An adjective comes before a noun (il mio biglietto). A pronoun stands alone instead of a noun — same gender and number as the thing it replaces.
📝 Exercise I
our dinner; 2. your names; 3. his umbrella; 4. her umbrella; 5. my nephews; 6. their chairs; 7. their house; 8. your horse; 9. my question; 10. his help; 11. We have received your telegram, but not your letter; 12. He has forgotten our address, and also yours.
Key words & pronunciation:
pranzo — prahn-tso; 2. nome — noh-meh; 3. ombrello — om-brel-loh; 4. nipote — nee-poh-teh; 5. sedia — seh-dee-ah; 6. cavallo — kah-vahl-loh; 7. domanda — doh-mahn-dah; 8. aiuto — ah-yoo-toh; 9. telegramma — teh-leh-grahm-mah; 10. ma — mah; 11. dimenticato — dee-men-tee-kah-toh; 12. indirizzo — een-dee-reet-tso; 13. anche — ahn-keh
✏️ Three Important Rules
Rule 1 — After the verb "to be"
When you say something belongs to someone, you can drop the article:
- The key is not his = La chiave non è sua
- The books are not mine = I libri non sono miei
- BUT: Where are mine? = Dove sono i miei? / Dove sono le mie?
Rule 2 — Article difference changes meaning
- This hat is mine (it belongs to me) = Questo cappello è mio
- This hat is the one that's mine (not that other one) = Questo cappello è il mio
Rule 3 — Family members drop the article
When talking about close family in the singular, we usually skip the article:
- her husband = suo marito
- his wife = sua moglie
- my sister = mia sorella
- ✅ BUT plural family members keep the article: your brothers = i vostri fratelli
- ✅ loro ALWAYS keeps the article: their brother = il loro fratello
📝 Exercise II
to their house; 2. with his help; 3. from your answers; 4. in our room; 5. Here is his father; 6. Where is their waiter?; 7. Here are your tickets; where are his?; 8. These four horses are not yours; 9. The mistake is not mine; 10. I have not seen her brother; 11. The fault is mine; 12. This lady is their aunt; 13. The dictionary is not his; 14. Here is our room; where is yours?; 15. The gloves are not hers.
Key words:
stanza; 2. ecco; 3. padre; 4. questi; 5. vedere
💡 A Gem Worth Remembering:
"Possessive words describe what is yours, mine, and ours — and they always agree with the thing itself, not with the person."
📌 Source:
Adapted from: Hugo's Italian Grammar Simplified — public domain classic
Status: ✅ Shared here for educational purposes
The Definite Article — Singular
THE translates as:
- il before masculine singular nouns starting with a consonant — the boy = il ragazzo; the month = il mese
- la before feminine singular nouns starting with a consonant — the house = la casa
- l' before any vowel (both masculine and feminine) — the idea = l'idea; the year = l'anno; the hour = l'ora
- lo before masculine nouns starting with z or an impure s (s + consonant) — the uncle = lo zio; the mistake = lo sbaglio. BUT: the excuse = la scusa
Pronunciation: il = eel · la = lah · l' = l' · lo = loh
Exercise I
the knife; 2. the church; 3. the lesson; 4. the uncle; 5. the aunt; 6. the railway station; 7. the ticket; 8. the pupil; 9. the box; 10. the book; 11. the effect; 12. the offer; 13. the bag; 14. the hill; 15. the water
Key words & pronunciation:
coltello — kol-tel-lo; 2. chiesa — kee-eh-zah; 3. lezione — let-ts-yoh-neh; 4. zio — tsee-oh; 5. zia — tsee-ah; 6. stazione — stah-ts-yoh-neh; 7. biglietto — beel-yeht-toh; 8. alunno — ah-loon-noh; 9. scatola — skah-toh-lah; 10. libro — lee-broh; 11. effetto — ehf-fet-toh; 12. offerta — ohf-fehr-tah; 13. borsa — bor-sah; 14. colle — kol-leh; 15. acqua — ahk-kwah
The Definite Article — Plural
THE translates as:
- i before masculine plural nouns starting with a consonant — the months = i mesi; the minutes = i minuti
- le before feminine plural nouns — the houses = le case
- gli before masculine plural nouns starting with a vowel, z, or an impure s — the years = gli anni; the uncles = gli zii; the pupils = gli scolari
Pronunciation: i = ee · le = leh · gli = lyee
Note: gl' is sometimes used instead of gli before i — the Englishmen = gl'Inglesi; and l' instead of le before a vowel.
Exercise II
the tickets; 2. the trains; 3. the lessons; 4. the chapters; 5. the flowers; 6. the excuses; 7. the offers; 8. the uncles; 9. the aunts; 10. the operations; 11. the entrances; 12. the doctors; 13. the weeks; 14. the boots / shoes; 15. the presents; 16. the stations
Key words & pronunciation:
biglietto → biglietti — beel-yeht-tee; 2. treno → treni — treh-nee; 3. lezione → lezioni — let-ts-yoh-nee; 4. capitolo → capitoli — kah-pee-toh-lee; 5. fiore → fiori — fyoh-ree; 6. scusa → scuse — skoo-zeh; 7. offerta → offerte — ohf-fehr-teh; 8. zio → zii — tsee-ee; 9. zia → zie — tsee-eh; 10. operazione → operazioni — oh-peh-rah-ts-yoh-nee; 11. entrata → entrate — ehn-trah-teh; 12. dottore → dottori — dot-toh-ree; 13. settimana → settimane — set-tee-mah-neh; 14. scarpa → scarpe — skahr-peh; 15. regalo → regali — reh-gah-lee; 16. stazione → stazioni — stah-ts-yoh-nee
13. Basic Prepositions
to / at = a — ah
with = con — kon
from / by = da — dah
of = di — dee
in = in — in
on = su — soo
Words in [ ] are omitted in Italian; words in ( ) are added in Italian but not English.
14. Prepositions Contracted with Articles — Part 1
When a preposition meets an article, they join together into one word. Here are the most common contractions:
- a + il = al — to/at the
- con + il = col — with the
- da + il = dal — from/by the
- di + il = del — of the
- in + il = nel — in the
- su + il = sul — on the
Pronunciation: al = ahl · col = kohl · dal = dahl · del = del · nel = nel · sul = sool
Examples:
- of the month = del mese
- in the book = nel libro
- from the theatre = dal teatro
- with the ticket = col biglietto
Exercise III
of the waiter; 2. to the theatre; 3. on the roof; 4. with the bread; 5. by the bootmaker; 6. by an author; 7. in the garden; 8. on the lid; 9. with the knife; 10. with a knife; 11. of the chapter; 12. at the theatre
Key words & pronunciation:
cameriere — kah-meh-ryeh-reh; 2. teatro — teh-ah-troh; 3. tetto — tet-toh; 4. pane — pah-neh; 5. calzolaio — kahl-tsoh-lah-yoh; 6. autore — ow-toh-reh; 7. giardino — jahr-dee-noh; 8. coperchio — koh-pehr-kyoh; 9. coltello — kol-tel-loh
15. Prepositions Contracted with Articles — Part 2 (Plurals)
In the masculine plural, the i or gli forms replace il:
- a + i = ai — to/at the (plural)
- a + gli = agli — to/at the (before vowel/z/s+)
- con + i = coi — with the
- con + gli = cogli — with the (before vowel/z/s+)
- da + i = dai — from/by the
- da + gli = dagli — from/by the
- di + i = dei — of the
- di + gli = degli — of the
- in + i = nei — in the
- in + gli = negli — in the
- su + i = sui — on the
- su + gli = sugli — on the
Examples:
- in the years = negli anni
- to the gentlemen = ai signori
- from the books = dai libri
- with the Englishmen = cogli Inglesi
Exercise IV
with the pupils; 2. with two pupils; 3. of the days; 4. in three days; 5. by the Italians; 6. in the trains; 7. on the roofs; 8. to the theatres
Key words & pronunciation:
giorno → giorni — jor-nee; 2. italiano → italiani — ee-tah-lee-ah-nee
16. Prepositions Contracted with Articles — Part 3 (lo, la, l', le)
Simply add the full article to the preposition root:
- a + lo = allo — a + la = alla — a + l' = all' — a + le = alle
- con + lo = collo — con + la = colla — con + l' = coll' — con + le = colle
- da + lo = dallo — da + la = dalla — da + l' = dall' — da + le = dalle
- di + lo = dello — di + la = della — di + l' = dell' — di + le = delle
- in + lo = nello — in + la = nella — in + l' = nell' — in + le = nelle
- su + lo = sullo — su + la = sulla — su + l' = sull' — su + le = sulle
Examples:
- in the house = nella casa
- from the houses = dalle case
- in the year = nell'anno
- to the uncle = allo zio
- with the ladies = colle signore
- at the station = alla stazione
- of the mistake = dello sbaglio
- on the table = sulla tavola
Exercise V
in the box; 2. in the boxes; 3. from the watch; 4. by the mistake; 5. to the ladies; 6. at the church; 7. in the churches; 8. with the match; 9. of the offer
17. Present Tense — The Verb Essere (to be)
I am = io sono — soh-noh
you are = tu sei — seh-ee
he is = egli è — eh
she is = essa è — eh
we are = noi siamo — see-ah-moh
you (plural) are = voi siete — syeh-teh
they (masculine) are = essi sono — soh-noh
they (feminine) are = esse sono — soh-noh
Note: È has a grave accent. Never omit it.
Exercise VI
he is; 2. we are not; 3. are you?; 4. are they not?; 5. they (feminine) are not; 6. am I?; 7. am I not?; 8. the boy is; 9. the boy is not; 10. are the tickets?; 11. are not the tickets?; 12. He is not at the theatre.
📝 Collective Exercise
She is not at the station.
The gentleman has not given the books to the boys yet.
Is the key in the lock? Yes.
The girl has not put the stamps on the envelopes of the letters.
Why are you not there?
Are the letters here? No.
Have you received a letter from the country today? Not yet.
We are at home every evening.
I am ready.
Is he with the clerks in the office?
I have sent the answer to the hotel.
Where are the children?
The money is not for you.
What have they done?
Key words & pronunciation:
ancora — ahn-koh-rah; 2. chiave — kyah-veh; 3. serratura — sehr-rah-too-rah; 4. ragazza — rah-gaht-tsah; 5. messo — mehs-soh; 6. francobollo — frahn-koh-bol-loh; 7. là — lah; 8. qui — kwee; 9. no — noh; 10. campagna — kahm-pahn-yah; 11. a casa — ah kah-zah; 12. ogni — ohn-yee; 13. sera — seh-rah; 14. pronto — pron-toh; 15. impiegato — eem-pyeh-gah-toh; 16. ufficio — oof-fee-choh; 17. albergo — ahl-behr-goh; 18. dove — doh-veh; 19. fanciullo / bimbo — fahn-chool-loh / beem-boh; 20. danaro — dah-nah-roh; 21. fatto — faht-toh
Source : Hugo's Italian simplified 1918