Possessives

Mio, tuo, suo, nostro, vostro and loro express possession. The form agrees with the thing possessed, not the owner’s gender: il mio libro, la mia casa.

Mio/mia/miei/mie; tuo/tua/tuoi/tue; suo/sua/suoi/sue.
Nostro/nostra/nostri/nostre; vostro/vostra/vostri/vostre.
Loro does not change: il loro libro, la loro casa.

Unlike English, Italian usually places an article before the possessive: i tuoi libri. Suo/sua can mean his or her: la sua casa. Context identifies the owner; sua agrees with casa.

With an ordinary, unmodified singular family noun, the article is usually omitted: mio padre, mia sorella. In the plural it is required: i miei fratelli. With loro it is kept even in the singular: la loro madre. Affectionate forms and nouns with additional modifiers have further rules; start with these basic patterns.

Agreement follows the thing possessed: il mio libro / la mia casa. An article is usually needed. Basic family patterns: mio padre, but i miei fratelli and la loro madre.