Lesson 192: The possessive adjective, proprio

Proprio is one of those words in Italian that is often misused, even by Italians. Proprio is an adverb that often means "really" (È proprio interessante!) but it can also be used as a possessive if it meets the following critera:

1. When the possession is that of an indefinite pronoun or the subject is impersonal (si), proprio is obligatory to express possession:
   
   
   • Tutti vogliono possedere le proprie case.
     
     Everyone wants to own their own home.
   
   
   • Durante una vacanza si rilassa meglio con la propria stanza invece di condividere.
   
   During a vacation one relaxes better with one's own room instead of sharing.
   
   
2. In order to avoid ambiguity when the possessors are of the same person (third person singular or plural: suo and loro) and only if the subject of the sentence and the possessor are the same -- the use of proprio signals to the reader or speaker that the possessor and subject are one and the same:
   
   
   • Marcello deve andare a Napoli per aiutare Annalisa con un progetto. Marcello non userà la propria macchina -- non vuole partire.
     
     Marcello has to go to Naples to help Annalisa with a project. Marcello will not use his (own) car -- it doesn't want to start.
     
     In the example above, if sua were to be used, it would signal that the car is Annalisa's. By using propria, the reader is immediately keyed into the fact that the possessor and subject are the same (and the car is, indeed, Marcello's).
     
   
   
3. To express own, as in: my own, his own, your own, etc. as a means of reinforcing the standard possessivo:
   
   
   • Ora che ho i soldi, voglio la mia propria bici! Non mi piace dividere con mia sorella.
     
     Now that I have money, I want my own bike. I don't like sharing with my sister.