Signora Harrington
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In Italian, nouns are either masculine or feminine.
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Nouns that end in -o are usually masculine (circolo).
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Nouns that end in -a are usually feminine (paninoteca).
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Nouns that end in -e can be either masculine or feminine
(costume m., televisione f.).
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The gender of nouns ending in -e must be memorized, but certain general
rules do apply.
1. Nouns that end in -ore are usually masculine.
l'attore, lo scrittore, il videoregistratore
2. Nouns that end in -trice are mostly feminine.
l'attrice, la scrittrice, la pittrice
3. Nouns that end in -ione are usually feminine as well.
la tradizione, la suggestione, l'informazione
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Some nouns that end in -o are feminine and some that
end in -a are masculine.
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Typically, these words are shortened versions of their
original forms, such as motocicletta moto.
la radio, l'auto, la foto, il cinema
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Italian nouns that end in consonants are all of foreign
origin. Most are masculine. l'autobus, il bar, lo sport, il film
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Nouns that end in -à are usually feminine,
like città and università. Nouns that end in -è are usually
masculine, such as caffè.
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Nouns that end in -ù are usually feminine, such as virtù.
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The indefinite article means a or an. It has four forms. The
appropriate form depends on the gender of the word it
modifies and the first letter(s) of the word that follows the
article.
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Un is used with masculine nouns that begin with a vowel
or with most consonants.
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Uno is used with masculine nouns that begin
with s + consonant, gn, ps, or z.
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Una is used with feminine nouns that begin with a
consonant.
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Un' is used with feminine nouns that begin with a vowel.
Singular indefinite articles
Male
Female
un diario
una lingua
un oggetto
un’italiana
uno scambio
una casa
Singular ending
Plural ending
o
Campo
i
Campi
a
Mela
e
Mele
e
Transmissione
i
trasmissioni
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Note that both masculine and feminine nouns that end in -e form their plurals
with -i.
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Nouns that end in -io often form the plural with just one -i.
personaggio personaggi
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To preserve the hard sound of the c or g, nouns ending in -co and -go acquire
an h in the plural.
banco banchi
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Note: Exceptions include amico amici, greco greci, nemico nemici, and
words whose emphasis falls on the third-to-last
syllable: medico medici, tecnico tecnici.
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Words that end in -ca and -ga require an h in the plural for the same reason:
amica amiche, elettronica elettroniche.
Singular ending
Plural Ending
io
Desiderio
i
Desideri
co
Parco
chi
Parchi
go
Svago
ghi
Svaghi
ca
Amica
che
Amiche
ga
Targa
ghe
targhe
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The following nouns, all shortened forms of
longer nouns, do not change their endings in
the plural.
un cinema due cinema
una radio
due radio
una moto
due moto
un'auto
due auto
una bici
due bici
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Esercizio 1: L'articolo indeterminativo
Esercizio 2: L’articolo indeterminativo
Esercizio 3: Plurali dei nomi
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The definite article corresponds to the in
English. The definite article refers to specific
things or people, in contrast to the indefinite
article, which refers to any member of the
category designated by the noun.
The form of the definite article is determined
by the gender and number of the noun it
modifies and the first letter(s) of the word
that follows the article.
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Il is used with masculine nouns that begin
with most consonants.
Lo is used with masculine nouns that begin
with s + consonant, gn, ps, or z.
La is used with feminine nouns that begin
with a consonant.
L' is used with masculine and feminine nouns
that begin with a vowel.
Singular definite articles
Mascio
Femina
Il consumismo
la musica
lo stile
l’influenza
l’orario
la moto
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I is used with masculine nouns that begin
with most consonants.
Gli is used with masculine nouns that begin
with s + consonant, gn, ps, z, or a vowel.
Le is used with all feminine nouns.
Mascio
i termini
le pizzerie
gli avvenimenti
le immagini
gli uffici
le case
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Esercizio 1: L’articolo determinative
Esercizio 2: Articolo determinativi e nomi dal
singolare al plurale