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Italian Grammar

Italian Nouns

The name (or noun), in Italian language, is the part of speech that allows us to indicate people, animals, things, quality, actions, feelings, concepts, etc. .

fratello, donna, medico
brother, woman, doctor

gatto, cane, uccello
cat, dog, bird

finestra, penna, automobile
window, pen, car

libertà, freddo, caldo
freedom, cold, warm

Gender

The name in Italian is divided into two genders: masculine and feminine .
It is possible to recognize the gender of a noun by the last vowel.

Usually, nouns that end in -o, -ore or in a consonant are of masculine gender:

il tavolo, il professore ,
the table, the teacher

Usually, nouns that end in -a, -zione, -tudine, -tù are of feminine gender:

la finestra, la dimostrazione , la gratitudine, la gioven
the window, demonstration, the gratitude, youth
Singular and plural

Nouns are used in singular, when they indicate only one element

Nouns are used in plural, when they indicate only more than one element:

SINGULAR -> PLURAL

Feminine gender nouns

-a -> -e

la finestra -> le finestre
the window -> windows


Masculine gender nouns

-a -> -i

l' autista -> gli autisti
the driver -> the drivers

-o -> -i

il tavolo -> i tavoli
the table -> the tables

-e -> -i

il serpente-> i serpenti
the snake -> the snakes

-i -> (no change)

il serpente-> i serpenti
the snake -> the snakes

- consonant -> (no change)

l’autobus / gli autobus
the bus / the busses

- accented vowels -> (no change)

la città / le città
the cuty / the cities

Some nouns have some peculiarities in the plural

SINGULAR -> PLURAL

-co, -go -> -chi, -ghi (if preceded by a consonant)

banco -> banchi
desk -> desks

albergo -> alberghi

hotel -> hotels

-co, -go -> -ci, -gi (if preceded by a vowel)

medico -> medici
doctor -> doctors

psicologo -> psicologi

psychologist ->psychologists

-ca, -ga -> -che, -ghe

banca ->banche
bank -> banks

riga -> righe

line -> lines

-cio, -gio -> -ci, -gi

bacio -> baci
kiss -> kisses

raggio -> raggi

ray -> rays

-cia, -gia -> -cie, -gie

farmacia ->farmacie
pharmacy -> pharmacies

camicia -> camicie

shirt -> shirts

valigia -> valigie

suitcase -> suitcases

 

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