Learn Italian: I nostri genitori hanno molti progetti.

I nostri genitori hanno molti progetti.

Our parents have many projects.

Breakdown of I nostri genitori hanno molti progetti.

Questions & Answers about I nostri genitori hanno molti progetti.

Why is there an 'i' before 'nostri genitori'? I thought we drop the article with family members!

Good memory! We drop the definite article for singular close family members (like mio padre or nostra madre). But when the family members are plural, like genitori (parents), the rule changes and the article comes back. That is why we must say i nostri genitori.

Does nostri agree with 'us' (the owners) or 'the parents' (the people being possessed)?

It agrees with the people being owned! In Italian, possessive adjectives always match the gender and number of the noun they describe. Since genitori is masculine plural, we use the masculine plural nostri and its matching article i.

Doesn't the Italian word parenti mean parents?

This is a very common mix-up! Parenti is a false friend—it actually means 'relatives' in general (like your aunts, uncles, and cousins). When you want to specifically say 'parents' (mother and father), you must use genitori.

Why is it molti instead of molto?

When used before a noun to mean 'many' or 'a lot of', molto acts like a regular adjective and changes its ending to match that noun. Since progetti (projects) is a masculine plural noun, molto changes to the masculine plural molti.