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- "I libri sono nostri."
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I'm not saying your explanation is incorrect, but that distinction would seem irrelevant given the exercise is to learn very simple possessives. The translation is "The books are ours". If the intent was to teach us this nance, then the translation would need to be equally nuanced. Both should be accepted at this stage.
Both are equally valid, particularly with no context to suggest one way or the other.
But with or without the definite article in the possessive pronoun subtly changes the meaning.
- "La gatta è la mia" means "The CAT (and not something else) is mine."
- "La gatta è mia" means "The cat is MINE (and not someone else's)."
“I tuoi libri sono (i) miei”
“tuoi” is attached to the noun "libri", thus, it’s a possessive adjective. ‘miei’ is used on its own, substitutes the noun mentioned, thus, it’s a possessive pronoun.
Copying from my grammar book:
….Finally, when used as a possessive pronoun (i.e. not attached to a noun) the article is often omitted
Di chi sono questi occhiali? Sono miei!
(Whose spectacles are these? They are mine)…..
Omission usually comes with 'essere'. Hope this makes it clear for you.
In meaning, I think the two are equivalent. However, grammatically, they are different. In "they are our books"/"[loro] sono i nostri libri", "they"/"loro" is the subject while in "the books are ours"/"i libri sono nostri", "the books"/"i libri" is the subject. Since the subject and direct object in both refer to the same physical entity, the difference is subtle. The former might be used to emphasize who owns the books (e.g., they are our books, not yours) while the latter might be used to emphasize what is owned (e.g., the books, but not the magazines, are ours).
As TomBushaw said, the difference is in grammatical structure and possibly emphasis.
They are our books:
They
: third person plural pronoun for the subject
our books
: a noun phrase for the predicate where "our" is the possessive adjective
The books are ours:
The books
: a noun phrase for the subject
ours
: a possessive pronoun for the predicate
It should be marked incorrect. You're changing the grammar around.
The books are ours.
"the books" - noun phrase as the subject
"ours" - possessive pronoun as the predicate complement
They are our books.
"they" - pronoun as the subject
"our books" - noun phrase consisting of a possessive adjective and noun as the predicate complement
See the post from possumaki above. "nostri" is a possessive pronoun here (not a possessive adjective) since it is not followed by a noun). As such, the preceeding "i" may not be necessary (particularly when following the verb essere). Ray F. says "Except for family members, when it's the possessive adjective, the article is mandatory. When it's the possessive pronoun, the article is optional (although it does change the meaning subtly)."
735
"L'ape e la nostra" Now this one.. "I libri sono nostri"
Why "la" in one and no "i" in the other?
Both are equally valid, particularly with no context to suggest one way or the other.
But with or without the definite article in the possessive pronoun subtly changes the meaning.
- "La gatta è la mia" means "The CAT (and not something else) is mine."
- "La gatta è mia" means "The cat is MINE (and not someone else's)."