Il Nome
Che divertimento!
Il Nome Italiano
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What is a noun? Che cos’e’ un nome?
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In Italian, nouns are different for
several reasons, but most importantly
for gender and articles.
Il Nome Italiano - Gender
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The Italian noun, unlike the English
noun, has a gender, masculine or
feminine.
Those nouns that refer specifically
for a man, such as father, brother,
etc. are masculine.
Those nouns that refer to a woman,
such as mother, sister, etc are
Il Nome
father
padre
mother
mamma
brother
fratello
sister
sorella
grandfathe nonno
r
grandmother nonna
uncle
aunt
zio
zia
Il Nome
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For all other nouns, we have to learn
the gender. How do we do this?
We look at the ending.
Il Nome
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Almost all nouns that end in o are
masculine.
Ex monumento
museo
edificio
albergo
teatro
stadio
Il Nome
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Almost all nouns that end in a are
feminine.
Exstrada
fontana
chiesa
banca
farmacia
macchina
Il Nome - Other Endings
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Ok, now for the difficult part. There
are many Italian nouns that don’t end
in o or a.
Besides o or a, nouns will also end in e
or a consonant like r or m. In
addition, you will also see nouns that
end in a’. Lastly, you will see nouns
that appear masculine/feminine, but
are shortened versions.
Il Nome - Ending in E
If a noun ends in e, it could be
masculine or feminine. Here are two
tips to help you decide:
1. Nouns ending in -ore are masculine.
2. Nouns ending in -ione are feminine.
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Examples
1. Masculine nouns ending in ore:
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dottore
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professore
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scultore
2. Feminine nouns ending in ione:
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conversazione
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presentazione
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stazione
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Il Nome - Consonants
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If a noun ends in a consonant, it’s
masculine.
exbar
autobus
sport
Il Nome - Exceptions
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Some nounds, you honestly just have
to memorize!
There are exceptions to every rule
and we will discuss them as they come
up.
So…to recap…..
masculine
feminine
o
a
e
(-ore)
e
(-ione)
consonants
(r, s, m)
Indefinite Articles
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un
uno
un’
una
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Indefinite Articles - Masculine
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un
most masculine nouns
ex - un libro, un treno, un poster
uno
for masculine nouns beginning with z,
s + consonant, ps or gn
ex - uno studente, uno zio (uncle)
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Indefinite Articles - Feminine
un’
for feminine nouns beginning with a
vowel
ex - un’universita’, un’amica
una
for feminine nouns
ex - una casa, una stazione
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Ripassiamo
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ragazzo
studio
zia
automobile
zio
albero
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