A2 · The noun
Possession with di
There is no apostrophe s — the owner goes last.
At a glance
- Remember
- First the thing, then di, then the owner.
- Form
- la macchina di PietroPeter's car
- Signal words
- di Pietro
- del vicino
- dei bambini
- della casa
- di chi è
- Trap
- Wrong:Il colore di il muro è troppo scuro.Right:Il colore del muro è troppo scuro.
Your turn
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The form
The forms and what they mean
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Italian.
| Peter's car | la macchina di Pietro |
| Maria's brother | il fratello di Maria |
| the neighbour's car | la macchina del vicino |
| the children's toys | i giocattoli dei bambini |
| the door of the house | la porta della casa |
| Whose bag is this? | Di chi è questa borsa? |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
The thing comes first, the owner second.
È la macchina di mio padre.It is my father's car.
Before an article, di merges with it.
Il cane del vicino abbaia tutta la notte.The neighbour's dog barks all night.
Before a name, di stands alone.
Questa è la bici di Luca.This is Luca's bike.
Di chi è …? asks who owns it.
Di chi è questo ombrello?Whose umbrella is this?
Example sentences
La bici di mia sorella è in garage.My sister's bike is in the garage.
Ho trovato le chiavi della macchina.I found the car keys.
Domani è il compleanno del direttore.Tomorrow is the director's birthday.
I genitori degli alunni aspettano fuori.The pupils' parents are waiting outside.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
di il never appears. As soon as an article follows, the two become one word: del, della, dello. The form follows whichever article the noun would have taken anyway — anybody who says lo zaino also says dello zaino. And the apostrophe stays out of it entirely: an English speaker reaching for one produces something Italian has no use for.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
English puts the owner first and hangs an apostrophe and an s on it: Peter's car. Italian reverses the order and puts di in between: la macchina di Pietro. There is no apostrophe s at all, in any register.
English does have the other order — the car of Peter — but keeps it for things rather than people and for heavy phrases, so it feels formal. In Italian it is not a variant; it is the only form there is, and it is entirely neutral.
Before a name, di stands alone: il fratello di Maria. Before a noun with an article it merges into one word: del, dello, della, dell', dei, degli, delle. La macchina del vicino, i giochi dei bambini, la porta della casa.
You ask with di chi: Di chi è questa borsa? — È di Marco. And several levels hang together in the same order: la chiave della porta del garage, the key of the door of the garage. English would compress that into garage door key, three nouns in a row; Italian cannot compress anything and unrolls it the other way.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: essere · avere · aspettare · trovare