ELONIO
Log inSign up

Mio cugino è diventato ricco.

Mio cugino è diventato ricco.
My cousin became rich.
From Lesson 69:The passato prossimo with essere (sono andato)·Italian

Breakdown of Mio cugino è diventato ricco.

essere
to be
il cugino
cousin
mio
my
ricco
rich
diventare
to become

Questions & Answers about Mio cugino è diventato ricco.

Why does 'became' translate to è diventato instead of using ha?
In Italian, the past tense (passato prossimo) uses the helper verb essere (to be) instead of avere (to have) for verbs that describe motion, state of being, or a change of state. Because diventare (to become) represents a change of state, it takes è as its helper verb.
Why does diventato end in -o?
When you use essere as the helper verb in the past tense, the past participle (the main verb, like diventato) must match the subject in gender and number. Since Mio cugino is masculine singular, diventato ends in -o. If the subject were a female cousin (Mia cugina), it would be è diventata.
Why is it Mio cugino and not Il mio cugino? Don't possessives usually need a 'the' in Italian?
Usually, yes! You generally need a definite article (like il or la) before possessives. However, there is a special exception for family members. For singular, close family members like cugino (cousin), madre (mother), or padre (father), you drop the article and just say Mio cugino.
If I wanted to say 'My cousins became rich,' how would this sentence change?
It would be I miei cugini sono diventati ricchi. Notice how everything shifts to plural: the family exception goes away for plural relatives so we need the article I, the helper verb becomes sono, and both the past participle (diventati) and the adjective (ricchi) change their endings to -i to match the masculine plural subject.

Learn Mio cugino è diventato ricco and more in Italian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Italian →