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How to use possessive constructions with ‘di’ in Italian?

By: Claudia Quesito Fri Aug 30 2024
Italian
Prepositions

The possessive construction with di is a very common way to express possession and ownership in Italian, as in:

Questa moto è di Francesca.

This motorcycle is Francesca’s.

This construction is equivalent to the English possessive “s” construction. In this post we’ll show you how to form it, how to use it, and when di becomes de. Ready? Let’s get to it!

Table of Contents

    How to express possession and ownership in Italian?

    In Italian, there are a few different ways to express possession and ownership. Let’s briefly go over them:

    • using the verb avere(to have)

      Lucia ha otto gatti.

      Lucia has/owns eight cats.

    • using other verbs conveying ownership, like appartenere(to belong) and possedere(to possess)

      Questo libro appartiene a Sara.

      This book belongs to Sara.

    • using possessive adjectives and pronouns

      possessive adjectivepossessive pronoun

      Il mio telefono qui non prende. Il tuo?

      My phone doesn’t have reception here. Yours?

    • using constructions with di(of)

      Questa è la stanza di mia sorella.

      This is my sister's room.

    In the rest of this post, we’ll focus on the last of these methods. Let’s have a look!

    How to form the possessive construction with ‘di’?

    Forming the possessive construction with di is pretty straightforward. You need:

    what is possessed

    essere

    (in the appropriate tense!)

    di

    possessor

    Questa bici è di Leonardo.

    This bike is Leonardo’s.

    Or, you might just want to create a noun phrase, like “Leonardo’s bike,” rather than a whole sentence. In that case you just need:

    what is possessed

    di

    possessor

    Questa bici di Leonardo è sulla destra.

    Leonardo’s bike is on the right.

    Note the word order in the above example; it’s pretty different from English. Think of la bici di Leonardo as "the bike of Leonardo."

    When di is used before a definite article (e.g. il, la, gli, ...) the two words contract to form one word, called preposizione articolata(articulated preposition). Here's an example in a sentence:

    Quella bici è della signora Alessi.

    This bike is Ms. Alessi’s.

    Since signora requires the definite article la, here comes the combination of di (that turns to de-) and -la. Add an extra l and here you have della. Here are all the articulated forms of the preposition di:

    Singular
    Plural

    di + il = del

    di + gli = degli

    di + lo = dello

    di + le = deglle

    di + l’ = dell’

    di + i = dei

    di + la = della

    Need a refresher on the uses of definite articles? There are some differences between Italian and English, so you might want to check our comprehensive post.

    Important

    Above, “what is possessed” can be an object (like a bike) but might also be an animal or person. When it comes to people, there’s no real “possession,” of course. Di expresses a relationship, just like in English:

    La sorella di Marco e la moglie di Teresa sono amiche.

    Marco’s sister and Teresa’s wife are friends.

    What are the uses of the possessive construction with ‘di’?

    The construction with di s used to express possession, ownership, or some other close relationship, much like its English equivalent, the possessive “s” construction (e.g. John’s house). Grammatically, though, it’s more like the “of” possession in English:

    Il colore della facciata sta sbiadendo.

    The color of the facade is fading.

    Tip

    The di construction is used in a very common phrase in Italian, as well as in English: a casa di:

    Domani andiamo tutti a casa di Consuelo.

    Tomorrow we are all going to Consuelo’s.

    Here are a few more points to cover about di:

    • If you combine di with the interrogative pronoun chi(who), you’ll get the equivalent of “whose”:

        • Di chi è la macchina nera?

          Whose is the black car?

        • È di Manuela.

          It’s Manuela’s.

      • Non so di chi sia questa felpa. È tua?

        I don’t know whose this sweater is. Is that yours?

      Important

      Note that this is an interrogative pronoun, meaning you use it to introduce questions and interrogative clauses.

      When you use a definite article + cui this also translates to “whose” but this introduces a relative clause that describes the owner, as in:

      possessorpossessed thing

      Anna , la cui macchina è vecchissima, vuole comprare una macchina elettrica.

      Anna, whose car is very old, wants to buy an electric car.

    • Finally, the di construction is often used to clarify the meaning of the possessive adjectives or pronouns suo/sua/suoi/sue. In Italian the gender of these adjectives matches the gender of the thing that is owned rather than the gender of the owner. This can sometimes lead to ambiguous sentences, if you could interpret something as having either a male or female possessor. For example:

      Ieri ho visto Sara e Mauro. Che bella la sua bici!

      Yesterday I met Sara and Mauro. How beautiful is his bike!

      As you see, there’s no issue in English: the bike is Mauro’s, since he’s male. In Italian, however, the bike might be owned by either Mauro or Sara. The phrase la sua bici doesn’t clarify.

      In those cases, di comes to the rescue. For example:

      Ieri ho visto Sara e Mauro. Che bella la nuova bici di lui!

      Yesterday I met Sara and Mauro. How beautiful is his new bike!

      Important

      Whenever di — or any other preposition — is followed by a pronoun, you need to use a stressed pronoun, as you see in our example: la nuova bici di lui.

    Important

    You can replace a phrase with the structure di + possessor with the pronoun ne(of it/her/him/them):

    Ieri ho visto un film bellissimo ma non ne ricordo il titolo.

    Yesterday I saw a wonderful movie but I don’t remember the title (of it).

    In the example above, ne replaces del film(of the film), so that we don’t need to repeat the word film. Note, though, that even though the thing that is “possessed” by the film is il titolo(the title), ne precedes the conjugated verb.

    When ‘di’ turns (or used to turn) into ‘de’?

    There are a few cases where, when di comes before an article, it can become de rather than combining with the article to create articulated forms like del or delle.

    You will sometimes see de + definite article instead of an articulated form of di, when the article is an integral part of the name — like part of a city name (L’Aquila, La Spezia), the title of a book (La Divina Commedia), or the title of some other kind of artwork (La Traviata, Il Padrino) — di may not combine with the article but still turns to de.

    Dante, l’autore de La Divina Commedia, nacque a Firenze nel 1265.

    Dante, the author of The Divine Comedy, was born in Florence in 1265.

    HOWEVER, in contemporary Italian, di and the definite article often will still combine to form one word, even in cases like those above:

    Dante, l’autore della Divina Commedia, nacque a Firenze nel 1265.

    True, this does not make clear that the article is part of the title itself, but this spelling is more consistent with the actual pronunciation (making it easier).

    In modern-day Italian, the use of de + definite article is normally perceived as very old fashioned and bureaucratic, at least in speech.

    Cultural Note

    Di (spelled with either upper or lowercase) and de are commonly found in Italian family names and also have to do with possession here. They mean, indeed, “(child) of.

    Andrea De Carlo, Giancarlo De Cataldo, Fabrizio De André, Luigi Di Maio, Carolina Di Domenico, just to name a few famous Italians, had ancestors that, at some point in time, were respectively, son of Carlo, son of Cataldo, son of André (or Andrea), etc. The Italian di/de in this context are the equivalent of the English “-son,” as in Johnson.

    A little bit of history

    Nobility in Italy was abolished with the Constitution, which became law in 1948. Noble titles can be used as a courtesy but they do not have any legal meaning. In addition to the titles, noble family names often feature a de (slightly more blue-blood sounding than the di) which is spelled lowercase.

    Summary

    So what should you remember about the possessive with di?

    • The possessive construction with di is the equivalent of the English possessive “s” construction.

    • When di precedes a definite article, it combines with it to form a single word, called preposizione articolata.

    • You might encounter de instead of di (specifically, when di precedes a definite article that is an integral part of the following name), but the de sounds pretty old-fashioned and is normally replaced by an “ordinary” preposizione articolata.

    We prepared some activities for you to practice the possessive construction with di. Happy learning!

    Downloadable Resources

    Elevate your language-learning journey to new heights with the following downloadable resources.

    How do the possessive constructions with ‘di’ work in Italian~ActivitiesHow do the possessive constructions with ‘di’ work in Italian~Activities

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