Learn Italian: Le sue figlie hanno otto e dieci anni. - Her daughters are eight and ten years old.

Le sue figlie hanno otto e dieci anni.

Her daughters are eight and ten years old.

Breakdown of Le sue figlie hanno otto e dieci anni.

Questions & Answers about Le sue figlie hanno otto e dieci anni.

Why is there a "Le" before "sue figlie"? I thought family members don't take "the" with possessives.

You are remembering a great rule! Singular family members do not use the definite article, so "her daughter" is just sua figlia. However, when the family member is plural, like figlie (daughters), the rule changes and you must include the article: le sue figlie.

How do I know whether to use i suoi or le sue in a sentence like this?

You choose the possessive adjective based on the gender and number of the noun being owned. Since figlie (daughters) is a feminine plural noun, you must use the feminine plural le sue. If the sentence were about sons (figli), you would use the masculine plural: i suoi figli.

The translation says "Her daughters". Could le sue figlie also mean "His daughters"?

Yes, it absolutely could! In Italian, the possessive adjective agrees with the noun being owned (the daughters), not the person who owns it. Sue tells us the daughters are feminine plural, but it doesn't tell us the gender of the parent. Without context, this could be "His daughters", "Her daughters", or "Your (formal) daughters".

Why does the sentence use hanno (they have) instead of the verb for "they are"?

In Italian, you express age using the verb avere (to have) instead of "to be". You don't "be" a certain age; you "have" a number of years. So, hanno otto e dieci anni literally translates to "they have eight and ten years".