Grammaire · Le nom et le groupe nominal · A1 · 12 min
Possessives
My, your, his, their: agreement with the thing owned, and who uses an article.
Les explications sont pour l’instant en anglais ; les exemples sont dans toutes les langues.
In all six sisters a possessive agrees with the thing possessed, not with the owner. French son livre and sa maison can both mean his or her: what turns son into sa is livre (m.) against maison (f.). English his and her point to the owner instead — the biggest single source of mistakes for English speakers.
| Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | Catalan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| my | mi, mis | mon, ma, mes | il mio, la mia, i miei, le mie | meu, minha, meus, minhas | meu, mea, mei, mele | el meu, la meva, els meus, les meves |
| your (familiar) | tu, tus | ton, ta, tes | il tuo, la tua, i tuoi, le tue | seu, sua (você) · teu, tua (tu) | tău, ta, tăi, tale | el teu, la teva, els teus, les teves |
| his, her, its | su, sus | son, sa, ses | il suo, la sua, i suoi, le sue | seu, sua · dele, dela | lui, ei (literary său, sa) | el seu, la seva, els seus, les seves |
| our | nuestro, nuestra, nuestros, nuestras | notre, nos | il nostro, la nostra, i nostri, le nostre | nosso, nossa, nossos, nossas | nostru, noastră, noștri, noastre | el nostre, la nostra, els nostres, les nostres |
| your (plural) | vuestro, vuestra, vuestros, vuestras | votre, vos | il vostro, la vostra, i vostri, le vostre | de vocês | vostru, voastră, voștri, voastre | el vostre, la vostra, els vostres, les vostres |
| their | su, sus | leur, leurs | il loro, la loro, i loro, le loro | seu, sua · deles, delas | lor | el seu, la seva, els seus, les seves |
| your (formal) | su, sus (usted) | votre, vos (vous) | il Suo, la Sua, i Suoi, le Sue (Lei) | do senhor, da senhora | dumneavoastră | el seu, la seva (vostè) |
Italian: article + possessive
Italian possessives normally come with the article: il mio libro, la tua casa, i nostri amici — where Spanish and French say mi libro, mon livre. Catalan does the same (el meu llibre), and in Portuguese the article is optional (meu livro or o meu livro; Brazilians usually leave it out). The article fuses with prepositions as usual: nella mia stanza, dal tuo medico. Swap the article for un and you get 'a … of mine': un mio amico. Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan use the full possessive after the noun (un amigo mío, um amigo meu, un amic meu); French says un de mes amis or, casually, un ami à moi. Romanian puts the possessive after a noun that already carries its article: cartea mea 'my book', literally 'the-book my'.
The family exception
| Italian | English | Why |
|---|---|---|
| mio padre, mia madre | my father, my mother | singular family noun: no article |
| tuo fratello, sua sorella | your brother, his/her sister | same rule |
| i miei genitori | my parents | plural: article returns |
| il mio fratellino | my little brother | diminutive: article returns |
| la mia mamma, il mio papà | my mom, my dad | affectionate words usually take it |
| il loro padre | their father | loro always takes the article |
Catalan has no such rule — la meva mare, el meu pare — though old short forms survive in mon pare, ma mare. Colloquial Romanian has its own family shortcut, a possessive glued straight onto the kinship word: maică-mea 'my mother', taică-tu 'your father'.
Whose? su, son, leur, loro
Spanish su does a great deal of work: his, her, its, their, and your for usted and ustedes. Context usually settles it; when it doesn't, Spanish adds de + pronoun: la casa de él, de ella, de usted. Portuguese seu is just as ambiguous, so Brazilians mostly keep it for 'your' (você) and say dele, dela, deles, delas 'of him, of her, of them' after the noun: a casa dele. Catalan el seu likewise covers his, her and their. French son, sa, ses cover his, her and its, but 'their' has its own word, leur, which agrees only in number: leur maison, leurs enfants. To stress the owner, French adds à + pronoun: sa voiture à elle. Italian works the same way: suo, sua for his and her (Suo for formal 'your'), and loro for 'their', which never changes: la loro casa, i loro figli. Romanian uses the pronouns lui 'his', ei 'her' and lor 'their' after the noun: casa lui, casa ei, casa lor. Keep apart the French possessive leur and the pronoun leur 'to them' (je leur parle), which never takes -s; its singular is lui 'to him, to her' (je lui parle).
Mio fratello abita a Milano.
Mi hermano vive en Milán.
Mon frère habite à Milan.
Meu irmão mora em Milão.
Fratele meu locuiește la Milano.
El meu germà viu a Milà.
My brother lives in Milan.
Italian: singular family noun, no article. Catalan keeps the article; Romanian puts meu after fratele.
I miei genitori vivono in campagna.
Mis padres viven en el campo.
Mes parents vivent à la campagne.
Meus pais moram no interior.
Părinții mei locuiesc la țară.
Els meus pares viuen al camp.
My parents live in the country.
Plural: the Italian article comes back.
La mia amica si chiama Anna.
Mi amiga se llama Ana.
Mon amie s'appelle Anne.
Minha amiga se chama Ana.
Prietena mea se numește Ana.
La meva amiga es diu Anna.
My friend is called Anna.
French mon before a feminine noun starting with a vowel.
Paolo vive con sua sorella.
Pablo vive con su hermana.
Paul vit avec sa sœur.
O Paulo mora com a irmã dele.
Paul locuiește cu sora lui.
En Pau viu amb la seva germana.
Paul lives with his sister.
sa, sua and seva are feminine because sister is — not because of Paul. Portuguese dele and Romanian lui point to Paul, like English his.
I bambini giocano con il loro cane.
Los niños juegan con su perro.
Les enfants jouent avec leur chien.
As crianças estão brincando com o cachorro delas.
Copiii se joacă cu câinele lor.
Els nens juguen amb el seu gos.
The children are playing with their dog.
Spanish su and Catalan el seu again; French leur; Italian il loro and Romanian lor, invariable; Portuguese delas, 'of them'.
È un mio amico.
Es un amigo mío.
C'est un de mes amis.
É um amigo meu.
E un prieten de-al meu.
És un amic meu.
He's a friend of mine.
Three solutions: the full form after the noun (es, pt, ca), 'one of my' (fr, ro), or un replacing the article (it).