Articles in the Italian language
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As English, Italian language has articles. They can be singular or plural,
masculine or feminine, and they are placed before the name they refer to. Obviously, a singular name
will be preceded by a singular article, and a masculine name by a masculine article.
Different kinds of articles
There're two main kinds of articles in Italian:
The definite articles, and the indefinite articles. Broadly speaking,
a definite article has
the same meaning of the English "the", while an indefinite article means "a","an".
There's also a third type of article, that comes from the French language. It is called partitive article,
and is quite common in the spoken language. It means "some" or "any".
Special Cases
Every language has its own exceptions, so in this section you will find all the most common exceptions and
peculiarities of articles in the Italian language.
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Modern Italian Grammar
by Ann Proudfoot,
paperback edition
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Definite Articles
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masculine |
feminine |
| Singular |
lo(l'), il |
la (l') |
| Plural |
gli, i |
le |
The definite article is placed before a noun to show that the item the noun refers to is a
particular one, different from other items of the same kind and known to the addressee, because it has
been talked about before,
or unknown to the adressee, but its peculiarities will be explained by an adjective or a relative
clause.
|
Modern Italian Grammar Workbook
by Ann Proudfoot
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Use of Definite Articles
The article has the same number and genre of the name it preceds. The rules for their usage
are summarized in the following table:
| lo (l') |
Use it before singular masculine nouns which start with:
- a) a vowel (in this case "lo" loses its "o" and becomes
"l' "):
- Example: l'italiano, the Italian man;
- b) s+ another consonant:
- Example: lo squalo, the shark;
- c) x,y or z:
- Example: lo xilofono, the xylophone; lo yogurt, the yoghurt; lo zio, the uncle;
- d)gn,ps,pn
- Example: lo psicologo, the psychologist; lo pneumatico, the tyre; lo gnu, the gnu;
- e) i+another vowel. In this case "lo" doesn't lose the finel "o"
- Example: lo iettatore, the jinx;
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| gli |
It is the plural form of "lo", so use it before plural masculine nouns which start with:
- a) a vowel:
- Example: gli italiani, the Italian people;
- b) s+ another consonant:
- Example: gli squali, the sharks;
- c) x,y or z:
- Example: gli xilofoni, the xylophones; gli yogurt, the yoghurts; gli zii, the uncles;
- d)gn,ps,pn
- Example: gli psicologi, the psychologists; gli pneumatici, the tyres; gli gnu, the gnus;
- e) i+another vowel. In this case "lo" doesn't lose the finel "o"
- Example: gli iettatori, the jinxes;
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| il |
- Use "il" with all the singular nouns beginning with a consonant, except for the cases in which you'll use "lo":
- Example: il cane, the dog; il figlio; the son; il martello; the hammer
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| i |
- Being "i" the plural form of "il",use it with all the plural nouns beginning with a consonant, except for the cases in which you'll use "gli":
- Example: i cani, the dogs; i figli; the sons; i martelli; the hammers;
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| la (l') |
- Use "la" with all the singular feminine nouns. If the nouns begins with a vowel, the form "l' " is used:
- Example: la tempesta, the storm; l'arancia, the orange; la finestra, the window;
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| le |
- Being "le" the plural form of "la", use it with all the plural feminine nouns.:
- Example: le tempeste, the storms; le arance, the oranges; le finestre, the windows;
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[Top][Back to Lesson 01]
indefinite Articles
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|
masculine |
feminine |
| Singular |
un; uno |
una (un') |
The indefinite article is placed before a singular noun when you're refering to a generic item. The item hasn't been talked about
before or it isn't known to the adressee. Look at the following example:
Un'automobile è stata rubata.A car has been stolen.
L'automobile rubata era mia. The stolen car was mine.
Luckily, this is only an example(^^).
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Rosetta Stone Italian Level 1 and 2 Personal edition
Practise your Italian with this system!
|
Use of indefinite Articles
indefinite articles have the same genre of the name they precede. The rules for their use
are summarized in the following table:
| uno |
Use "uno" before masculine nouns which start with:
- a) s+ another consonant:
- Example: uno squalo, a shark;
- b) x, y or z:
- Example: uno xilofono, a xylophone; uno yogurt, a yoghurt; uno zio, an uncle;
- c) gn, ps, pn
- Example: uno psicologo, a psychologist; uno pneumatico, a tyre; uno gnu, a gnu;
- d) i+another vowel.
- Example: uno iettatore, a jinx;
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| un |
Use "un" with:
- a) a vowel:
- Example: un italiano, an Italian man;
- b) all the singular nouns beginning with a consonant, except for the cases in which you'll use "uno":
- Example: un cane, a dog; un figlio; a son; un martello; a hammer
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| una (un') |
- Use "una" with all the feminine nouns. If the nouns begins with a vowel, the form "un' " is used:
- Example: una tempesta, a storm; un'arancia, an orange; una finestra, a window;
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[Top][Back to Lesson 01]
Partitive Article
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masculine |
feminine |
| Singular |
dello(dell'), del |
della (dell') |
| Plural |
degli, dei |
delle |
The partitive article is used for indicating an undefined quantity of an item. It has the same meaning
of the English some and any. They follow the same rules of usage of the definete article, so you should use "dello"
for the nouns you would use "lo" with, and so on.
Per favore, mi dia del pane Please, give me some bread
[Top]
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A+ Italian
Learn Italian in 15 easy lessons!
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Special Cases
You shouldn't place the definite article:
- a) before the first or the last name:
- ho incontrato Paolo I've met Paolo
- b) before names of kinship preceded by a possessive adjective:
- ho visto mio padre I've seen my father
- c) in a list is you want make the list more fast:
- ho comprato pane, uova e vino I've bought bread, eggs and vine
- d) before plural nouns, if you want to be vague:
- Vende libri He sells books (every kind of books)
You should place the definite article:
- a) before names of nations -but not when they're preceded by "in", rivers, lakes and mountains:
- L'Himalaya è molto alto The Himalaya is very tall
- L'Inghilterra è una bella nazione england is a nice country
- Andrò in Inghilterra I'll go to England
- b) before names of kinship preceded by an adjective, and first or last names when preceded by an adjective:
- ho visto il mio caro padre I've seen my dear father
- ho visto il buon Paolo I've seen the good-hearted Paolo
[Top]
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