"Her dog drinks water."

Translation: Il suo cane beve l'acqua.

[rgc1600]

I just don't understand how the gender of the dog's owner can be known here. If "suo" has to agree with "cane", then what word determines the owner's gender? I'm having a hard time following the logic of the sua/suo usages.

[nadameu]

I saw a website that had an article named "La casa di lui e la casa di lei" (his house and her house) so I guess you can use that to specify the owner's gender.

[Sean.t.Walter]

Does "di" mean of (The house of him, the house of her)?

[nadameu]

Exactly.

[Sean.t.Walter]

I have the same question - does the sentence indicate the gender of the owner? If so, how?

[Sean.t.Walter]

Okay, so after looking at this further my understanding is that "Il suo cane beve acqua" could also be translated as "His dog drinks water", or "It's dog drinks water" - the gender of the owner is not specified. Is that correct?

[nadameu]

Correct. Also, their dog drinks water.
It cannot be a female dog, though.

[balber123]

Wouldn't this be "La sua cane beve acqua." ? To me, Il suo cane beve acqua means, his dog drinks water. Or would La sua only apply if cane was for instance, farfalla or formica?

[chrism99]

We haven't even seen the word 'cagna' before

[nadameu]

"Suo" refers to "cane", not to its owner.

[jd12386]

I think there wrong with this one I found a web site that says different than what we are being taught here ( Il SUO Masculine and Singular ) ( LA SUA Feminine and Singular) ( I SUOI Masculine and Plural ) ( LE SUE Feminine and Plural
I am sure there are rules that apply to this that we have not been shown yet.

[roger.rse]

Can I use "Suo cane" instead of "Il suo cane"?

[nadameu]

Yes you can, but Italian speakers will usually put the "il" at the beginning of the sentence.

[cmackin27]

What is cagna? that was given as a suggested answer, but i've never come across that word.
La sua cagna beve acqua
I was just curious

[oecastell]

translation for cagna is female dog, bitch.

[PazKe]

Apparently people aren't mature enough to handle the use of that word in it's original connotation. I apologize on behalf of english speakers.

[italikaren]

can suo be feminine?

[Farishaismail22]

what is suo , sua , sue ????? please interpretate this please i dont understand

[nadameu]

The words "suo", "sua", "suoi" and "sue" all mean his/her/their.
The difference is, instead of referencing the "owner" (male, female, singular or plural), they reference the "owned" thing.

Examples:

Suo fratello: His/her/their brother.
Sua sorella: His/her/their sister.
Suoi fratelli: His/her/their brothers.
Sue sorelle: His/her/their sisters.