"Which razor is mine?"

Translation: Quale rasoio è mio?

[NahumSchni]

Why isn't it "il mio"

[Pier_Golfoz]

"Quale rasoio è mio?" = "Quale rasoio è il mio?" (both are accepted by DL)
The difference is Very subtle and in my opinion there is no difference in meaning

However, in negative sentences the article slightly changes the meaning
Example:
- Quel rasoio non è mio = that razor is not mine (maybe I have one or more razors, or maybe I don't have any).
- Quel rasoio non è il mio = that razor is not mine (but surely I have, or I have had, a razor)
http://italian.about.com/od/grammar/a/italian-possessive-pronouns.htm

[NahumSchni]

Grazie!

[ramongut]

Why can't i say "qual'é il mio rasoio" the original sentence is "which razor is mine"

[silvia_aimone]

it's correct, but it's "qual è", without the apostrophe

[rsc55]

I wrote "Qual e' il mio rasoio?" and it was marked wrong.

[acqualinda]

Because that would be the translation of "which is my razor?"

[germz20]

Why i can't contract quale as qual?!

[BrianGilli12]

It's only contracted when followed by è

[divaluisa]

Isn't "which is my razor" the same as "which razor is mine"??

[Dan878472]

Same meaning but the first il mio is a possessive adjective and the second mio is a possessive pronoun....the difference between my and mine. Using the pronoun keeps you from having to say which razor is my razor, mio at the end stands in for razor. It doesn’t have a definite article because it doesn’t have to. When the possessive pronoun follows a form of essere it is speakers/writers choice to use it or not.

[iuli9]

Thank you

[JohannaPic14]

Why is it quale and not qual?

[coledanielj]

Qual is only used with conjugated forms of “to be” that start with e – è, ero, era

[bacam1lgr4u]

what's the plural for rasoio?

[Pier_Golfoz]

all nouns ending in "oio" form their plural by removing the last "o"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sing. . . . . . . . pl.
(razor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . rasoio . . . . . rasoi
(vulture) . . . . . . . . . . avvoltoio . . . avvoltoi
(tank) . . . . . . . . . . . . .serbatoio . . .serbatoi
(changing room) . . spogliatoio . spogliatoi

[Dan878472]

I didn't appreciate this economy of Italian vowels, until I studied Romanian, and you end up with words like copii which means children, or worse (unless you are Romanian) copiii which means the children, or fiii = the sons. Romanian by the way--one of the stranger Romance languages-- totally mystifies me even after finishing the tree.

[Aliki-55]

why mio and not il mio? Is rasoio a family member?

[Dan878472]

Here mio means mine not my where the family rule except for plurals and loro is in effect. my is an adjective and mine is a pronoun replacing both the adjective my and rasoio = my razor. The rule for these posessive pronouns is that when they follow any form of essere, the definite article is optional.

[Aliki-55]

thanks for the explanation! Optional meaning that both mio rasoio and il mio rasoio are correct?

[Dan878472]

Not quite... in the final position mio is mine...the rasoio is understood because it was just mentioned, but yes, Quale rasoio è mio and * Quale rasoio è Il mio are both acceptable. I would rely upon a native Italian to verify which is the more common.

[Aliki-55]

Fair enough! Thanks again!

[Jae633849]

Anch'io conosco questa situazione! È successa anche a casa mia.

[Thumbles6]

What is wrong with Quale è mio rasoio

[LisaFoss129]

Why not "Quale è mio rasoio?"

[acqualinda]

Please see other comments.

"Qual è il mio rasoio?" means "which is my razor". Whereas "Quale rasoio è mio" means "which razor is mine".

[Francesco499730]

What's wrong with "Che rasoio è il mio"?