Convo

Hi,

i am just wondering if I want to say that something is not mine in Italian, what should I say?

example: "(1) it is not my books" or "(2) don't touch my things" , "(3) this does not belong to me". 

Grazie!

Hi Rachelyeo,

You could say:
Questi non sono i miei libri (these are not my books)
Non toccare le mie cose (don't touch my things)
Questo non mi appartiene (this does not belong to me)

"My" can be translated in different ways, depending on the sentence.

Il mio is used for masculine, singular nouns.
Questo non è il mio telefono. This is not my phone.

La mia is used for feminine, singular nouns.
Questa non è la mia macchina. This is not my car.

I miei is used for masculine, plural nouns.
Questi non sono i miei disegni. These are not my drawings.

Finally, le mie is used for feminine, plural nouns.
Queste non sono le mie penne. These are not my pens.

As you probably noticed, Italian possessive adjectives are always preceded by a definite article. Family members are an exception: mia mamma, mio papà...
Forms like "la mia mamma" and "il mio papà" are associated with childhood language. Little kids use these a lot! :D

When you leave out the noun, you can either add the definite article or not. The use of the definite article usually makes the statement stronger.

Questo è mio. This is mine.
Questo è il mio e questo è il tuo. This is mine and this is yours.

Hope this helps! :)