Italiano — Possessives with family
In Italian, a singular, unmodified family member drops the article after a possessive: mia madre, tuo fratello. Plurals and altered or affectionate forms keep it: i miei fratelli, la mia mamma.
How it works
Omit the article when the noun is a singular, unaltered family member: mia madre, tuo padre, sua sorella, nostro fratello. Restore the article as soon as the noun is plural (i miei fratelli), altered with a suffix (la mia sorellina, il mio fratellino) or affectionate (la mia mamma, il mio babbo).
Examples
| Expression | Article? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| mia madre | no | singular, unmodified |
| tuo fratello | no | singular, unmodified |
| sua sorella | no | singular, unmodified |
| i miei fratelli | yes | plural |
| la mia sorellina | yes | altered (diminutive suffix) |
| la mia mamma | yes | affectionate form |
| il loro cugino | yes | loro always keeps the article |
Good to know
The possessive loro is the exception: it always takes the article, even with a singular unmodified member — il loro padre, la loro madre, not loro padre. Also, some speakers keep the article with the affectionate mamma and papà (la mia mamma, il mio papà), which is standard, not a mistake.