"I write my family's surname."

Translation: Scrivo il cognome della mia famiglia.

[EpiqPolyglot]

Isn't "Io scrivo il cognome di mia famiglia" also correct?

[SarimaFaus]

Scrivo il cognome della mia famiglia...

[Racile]

Scrivo il cognome di mia famiglia is wrong? Any help please?

[ManlyStump]

You only drop the article when referring to a SINGLE MEMBER of your family (e.g. my brother = mio fratello, my brothers = i miei fratelli). La famiglia is singular, but it doesn't refer to a single person, so you need the article.

[king.Sardius]

thank you, now I understand

[Racile]

Thank you so much :)

[Sam_Da_Man01]

When do you use della vs. di?

[mlight]

io scrivo mia famiglia cognome - isn't that correct too?

[mukkapazza]

Careful, the possessive form is very different in Italian. When you see 's remember to change it to the 'of the/di + article' form.

• Mary's dog/il cane di Maria
• the woman's shirt/la maglia della donna
• the man's shoes/le scarpe dell'uomo

[Tim_B]

Thank you! I was having trouble knowing when the sentence was structured like that. This helps a lot.

[dima856524]

Mlight this is exactly what I wrote and it was marked wrong, wonder why ?

[laurelteaches]

Is the order of words critical? I wrote Scrivo della mia famiglia il cognome, and it was wrong

[ManlyStump]

You wrote "I write of my family the surname". Yes, that would be wrong! It needs to be "I write the surname of my family" = "I write my family's surname"

[laurelteaches]

Thank you, that makes sense!

[Arjofocolovi]

I'd like the opinion of native Italian speakers on this sentence, it seems to me that it's a bit redundant. "Cognome" should imply that it's your family's name already, so shouldn't the real sentences be:

• "Scrivo il mio cognome."
• "Scrivo il nome della mia famiglia."

Thanks in advance to those who'll take the time to answer.

[Ronke527409]

I am not a native Italian but the sentences are different:
Scrivo il mio cognome - I write my surname
Scrivo il nome della mia famiglia - I write my family's name
Imagine in a mixed family, all family members may not have the same surname.
I hope that helps.

[DaneMarjan]

Why is "mia" expected here? It was noted several times throughout the course that Italians for 'my family' say just "la famiglia".

[AlexLevin1]

Why don't you drop the article before "famiglia"? I got the last one wrong for putting "il" before "mio zio". Someone explain per favore!

[ManlyStump]

You only drop the article when referring to a SINGLE MEMBER of your family (e.g. my brother = mio fratello, my brothers = i miei fratelli). La famiglia is singular, but it doesn't refer to a single person, so you need the article.

[JoeyGirott]

When there 3 choies it does not show the whole sentence

[BedirhanYilmazz]

The answer said, scrivo il mio cognome. I said Scrivo mia famiglia cognome. Explanation please.

[SusanDavis679231]

I often add the extra la or il, in this case in "la mia famiglia". Any tips on use of articles?

[lostordimento]

Whenever you refer to your family you DROP the article. Isn't that the same reason why it's mistaken to say "IL mio fratello"?

[ManlyStump]

You only drop the article when referring to a SINGLE MEMBER of your family (e.g. my brother = mio fratello, my brothers = i miei fratelli). La famiglia is singular, but it doesn't refer to a single person, so you need the article.

[Erkan2018]

it is enough ! i'm really tired of Duolingo due its stupid usage of the articles