Mine and yours
In Italian, possessive pronouns ("mine", "yours") are identical to possessive adjectives (il mio, la tua). The only difference is that the pronoun stands completely alone, replacing the noun.
They require a definite article (il, la, i, le) and must agree in gender and number with the noun they replace—not the owner!
| My roommate paid the rent, but I haven't paid mine. | Il mio coinquilino ha pagato l'affitto, ma io non ho pagato il mio. |
| My roommates are nice, and yours? | I miei coinquilini sono simpatici, e i tuoi? |
| Did you pay your bill? I have already paid mine. | Hai pagato la tua bolletta? Io ho già pagato la mia. |
His, hers, and ours
This rule applies to all possessives, including suo (his/hers) and nostro (ours). Notice how in the next example, la sua is feminine singular because it replaces la stanza (the room).
| I cleaned my room, not his. | Ho pulito la mia stanza, non la sua. |
| The landlord has his key, and we have ours. | Il proprietario ha la sua chiave, e noi abbiamo la nostra. |
Keeping things fair
Whenever you drop the noun, mentally trace the pronoun back to the word it replaces to keep the gender and number right.
| Is today my turn for the garbage, or yours? | Oggi è il mio turno per la spazzatura, o il tuo? |
| Your bathroom is occupied? You can use mine, but you must leave it clean. | Il tuo bagno è occupato? Puoi usare il mio, ma devi lasciarlo pulito. |
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