Breakdown of Ognuno protegge la propria riservatezza e la propria vita privata.
e
and
la vita
the life
privato
private
proteggere
to protect
ognuno
everyone / each one
proprio
one's own
la riservatezza
the confidentiality / the privacy
Questions & Answers about Ognuno protegge la propria riservatezza e la propria vita privata.
Why do we use propria here instead of sua?
Because the subject of the sentence is the indefinite pronoun ognuno (everyone/each one). When the subject is indefinite or impersonal, Italian requires you to use proprio instead of suo/sua to mean "one's own" or "their own".
Since ognuno means "everyone", why does it take the singular verb protegge?
Does propria agree with the subject (ognuno) or with the things being protected?
Why do we need the article la before propria?
In Italian, possessive adjectives almost always require a definite article before them (il, la, i, or le). The main exception is when talking about singular family members (like mio padre), but for abstract nouns like riservatezza and vita privata, the article is mandatory.
Could I just say "la privacy" instead of "la riservatezza"?
Yes, Italians frequently use the English loanword la privacy in everyday conversation. However, riservatezza is the traditional native Italian word for privacy, discretion, or confidentiality, and is very common in formal or written contexts.
Learn Ognuno protegge la propria riservatezza e la propria vita privata 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