Nouns and articles · Italian grammar A1

The gender of nouns#

Formation

Nouns ending in -o are nearly all masculine (il libro, il tavolo), and nouns ending in -a nearly all feminine (la casa, la penna). Nouns ending in -e are either masculine (il pane, il fiore, il mare) or feminine (la chiave, la notte, la stazione): their gender is learnt with the article. Nouns in -zione are feminine.

For many nouns of people, the feminine is formed by replacing -o with -a: nonno → nonna, figlio → figlia, amico → amica, ragazzo → ragazza. Some nouns in -e form their feminine in -a (cameriere → cameriera), others in -essa (studente → studentessa), and others do not change (insegnante).

Use

The gender of a noun is seen on every word that agrees with it: the article (il, la), the adjective (nuovo, nuova), the possessive (il mio, la mia) and, after essere, the past participle (è andato, è andata). A noun is therefore learnt with its article: il fiore, la chiave.

Il nonno e la nonna abitano in un piccolo paese.Grandad and Grandma live in a small village.
La chiave è sul tavolo.The key is on the table.
Mia figlia è cameriera in un bar.My daughter is a waitress in a café.

Difference from English

English nouns have no grammatical gender: “the”, “a”, “new” and “my” have one form for every noun. In Italian, a table (il tavolo) is masculine and a key (la chiave) feminine, with no link to the meaning, and this choice changes the article and every adjective. For a noun in -e, nothing in the word shows the gender, so the article is the only guide.

Common mistakes

~~La fiore è bella.~~ → Il fiore è bello.Fiore is masculine, although it ends in -e: the article and the adjective are masculine.
~~Il chiave è sul tavolo.~~ → La chiave è sul tavolo.Chiave is feminine.

Practise

“Nouns and articles: il, la, un, una, the plural”, The gender of nouns: -o and -a “Nouns and articles: il, la, un, una, the plural”, Nouns in -e and their plural

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The plural of nouns#

Formation

The plural of nouns is not formed with -s: the final vowel changes. Masculine nouns in -o form their plural in -i (gatto → gatti), feminine nouns in -a in -e (casa → case), and nouns in -e, masculine or feminine, in -i (cane → cani, chiave → chiavi). Nouns ending in a consonant, often borrowed from English, do not change: il bar, i bar; lo sport, gli sport.

Singular	Plural	Example
-o (masculine)	-i	il libro → i libri
-a (feminine)	-e	la sedia → le sedie
-e (masculine)	-i	il fiore → i fiori
-e (feminine)	-i	la lezione → le lezioni

Ho tre fratelli e due sorelle.I have three brothers and two sisters.
Le sedie della cucina sono nuove.The kitchen chairs are new.
In questa via ci sono due ristoranti.There are two restaurants in this street.

Difference from English

In English, nearly every plural ends in -s. In Italian, the plural ending replaces the final vowel, and a final -e in the plural shows a feminine noun, not a singular one: le case. The English words used in Italian keep the singular form: due bar, tre film.

Common mistakes

~~Ho tre gattos.~~ → Ho tre gatti.Nouns in -o form their plural in -i.
~~Le chiave sono sul tavolo.~~ → Le chiavi sono sul tavolo.Nouns in -e form their plural in -i, feminine nouns too.
~~In questa via ci sono due bars.~~ → In questa via ci sono due bar.A noun ending in a consonant does not change in the plural.

Practise

“Nouns and articles: il, la, un, una, the plural”, The plural of nouns: -i and -e “Nouns and articles: il, la, un, una, the plural”, Nouns in -e and their plural

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The definite and indefinite articles#

Formation

The article agrees with the noun in gender and number. In the masculine, its form depends on the first letter of the following word: il, un before a consonant; lo, uno before s + consonant and before z (and, more rarely, before gn, ps and x); l', un before a vowel. In the feminine, la, una before a consonant, l', un' before a vowel. In the plural, il becomes i, masculine lo and l' become gli, and every feminine noun takes le.

Before	Masc. sing.	Masc. pl.	Fem. sing.	Fem. pl.	Indefinite masc.	Indefinite fem.
a consonant	il libro	i libri	la casa	le case	un libro	una casa
s + consonant, z	lo studente	gli studenti	la scuola	le scuole	uno studente	una scuola
a vowel	l'albero	gli alberi	l'amica	le amiche	un albero	un'amica

The indefinite article takes an apostrophe only in the feminine: un amico, but un'amica. The form of the article depends on the word that immediately follows it, even when that word is an adjective: uno studente, but un nuovo studente.

Use

The definite and indefinite articles are mostly used as “the” and “a” are in English. After essere, a noun of profession is usually used with no article: Sono medico. The definite article is also used before a possessive: la mia casa. After in or a, the name of a country or a city takes no article: in Italia, a Roma.

Lo studente nuovo fa uno sport ogni sabato.The new student does a sport every Saturday.
Gli amici di Sara sono simpatici.Sara's friends are nice.
Ho un'amica a Londra.I have a friend in London.
I biglietti sono nella borsa.The tickets are in the bag.

Difference from English

English has one definite article, “the”; Italian has four in the singular (il, lo, la, l') and three in the plural (i, gli, le), and four forms of the indefinite article (un, uno, una, un') where English has “a” and “an”. The choice depends on the gender of the noun and on the sound of the word that follows. “I'm a doctor” is usually Sono medico, with no article.

Common mistakes

~~Il studente è inglese.~~ → Lo studente è inglese.Before s + consonant, the masculine article is lo.
~~I amici sono qui.~~ → Gli amici sono qui.Before a vowel, the masculine plural article is gli.
~~Le libri sono nuovi.~~ → I libri sono nuovi.Le is the feminine plural article.
~~Un'amico.~~ → Un amico.The masculine indefinite article takes no apostrophe.

Practise

“Nouns and articles: il, la, un, una, the plural”, The indefinite article: un, una, uno, un' “Nouns and articles: il, la, un, una, the plural”, The definite article: il, la, lo, l' “Nouns and articles: il, la, un, una, the plural”, The definite article in the plural: i, le, gli

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This and that: questo, quello#

Formation

Questo refers to what is near the speaker. It agrees with the noun like an adjective in -o: questo, questa, questi, queste. It is placed before the noun (questa borsa) or used alone, as a pronoun (Questo è mio fratello). Quello and quella, used alone, refer to what is further away: “that one”.

Use

To introduce a person, the demonstrative agrees with that person: Questa è Laura. To stress nearness, qui may be added after the noun: questo libro qui. At A1, quello is used alone; before a noun, its forms are those of the definite article (quel, quello, quell'), studied later.

Questa casa è molto grande.This house is very big.
Questi pantaloni sono nuovi.These trousers are new.
Questo è il mio appartamento.This is my flat.
Preferisci questa borsa o quella?Do you prefer this bag or that one?

Difference from English

Questo covers “this” and “this one”, and its plural questi, queste is “these”. Unlike “this”, it agrees with the noun in gender as well as number: questo libro, questa borsa. “This is Laura” is Questa è Laura, in the feminine.

Common mistake

~~Questo borsa è nuova.~~ → Questa borsa è nuova.Borsa is feminine, so the demonstrative is questa.

In short

Point	Rule	Example
gender	-o masculine, -a feminine, -e either	il libro, la casa, il pane
plural	-o → -i, -a → -e, -e → -i	libri, case, cani
masculine article	il / i, lo / gli, l' / gli	il gatto, lo zaino, gli amici
feminine article	la / le, l' / le	la sedia, l'amica, le amiche
indefinite article	un, uno, una, un'	uno studente, un'amica
demonstrative	questo, questa, questi, queste; quello, quella alone	questa borsa, quella

Practise

“Nouns and articles: il, la, un, una, the plural”, This and that: questo, quello

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