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Grammar Basics: Nouns, Articles, and Adjectives

A Word on Adjectives
Buono (Good) and Bello (Beautiful, Nice)
Quantitative, Possessive, Demonstrative, and Interrogative Adjectives

A Word on Adjectives by Ronald Glenn Wrigley

An adjective modifies or describes a noun. In Italian, an adjective must agree in number (singular or plural) and gender (masculine or feminine) with the noun that it modifies.

Italian Adjectives

There are two categories of adjectives in Italian. The first category is comprised of adjectives whose masculine singular form ends in -o. These adjectives have four possible endings:

Mario è bravo. (Mario = masculine, singular; bravo = masculine, singular) Mario is good.

Maria è brava. (Maria = feminine, singular; brava = feminine, singular) Maria is good.

Mario e Marco sono bravi. (Mario e Marco = masculine, plural; bravi = masculine, plural ) Mario and Marco are good.

Maria e Marla sono brave. (Maria e Marla = feminine, plural; brave = feminine, plural) Maria and Marla are good.

The second category is comprised of adjectives whose masculine singular form ends in -e. These adjectives have two possible endings.

Mario è intelligente. (Mario = masculine, singular; intelligente = masculine, singular) Mario is intelligent.

Maria è intelligente. (Maria = feminine, singular; intelligente = feminine, singular) Maria is intelligent.

Mario e Marco sono intelligenti. (Mario e Marco = masculine, plural; intelligenti = masculine, plural ) Mario and Marco are intelligent.

Maria e Marla sono intelligenti. (Maria e Marla = feminine, plural; intelligenti = feminine, plural) Maria and Marla are intelligent.

Placement of Adjectives — After the Noun

We've already determined that adjectives must agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify. When paired with a noun, most adjectives follow the noun.

Giulio è un ragazzo intelligente.	Giulio is an intelligent young man.
I bambini italiani giocano nel parco.	The Italian children play in the park.

Adjectives of Nationality</h2> Adjectives that denote nationality always follow the noun that they modify. The following is a list of adjectives in their neutral, singular form. As an exercise, try to change them to plural. Table 3-19 <table width="100%" frame="all"> <h2> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td>English</td> <td>Italian</td> </tr> <tr> <td>African</td> <td>africano</td> </tr> <tr> <td>American</td> <td>americano</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Australian</td> <td>australiano</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Italian</td> <td>italiano</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Japanese</td> <td>giapponese</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mexican</td> <td>messicano</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Belgian</td> <td>belgo</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Brazilian</td> <td>brasiliano</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Canadian</td> <td>canadese</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Chinese</td> <td>cinese</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Dutch</td> <td>olandese</td> </tr> <tr> <td>English</td> <td>inglese</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Egyptian</td> <td>egiziano</td> </tr> <tr> <td>European</td> <td>europeo</td> </tr> <tr> <td>French</td> <td>francese</td> </tr> <tr> <td>German</td> <td>tedesco</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Irish</td> <td>irlandese</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Indian</td> <td>indiano</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Moroccan</td> <td>marocchino</td> </tr> <tr> <td>New Zealander</td> <td>neozelandese</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Polish</td> <td>polacco</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Portuguese</td> <td>portoghese</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Russian</td> <td>russo</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Scottish</td> <td>scozzese</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Spanish</td> <td>spagnolo</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Swedish</td> <td>svedese</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Swiss</td> <td>svizzero</td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <div class="npsb"> Adjectives denoting nationality are not capitalized in Italian. I am American is Sono americano or Sono americana. Nouns denoting nationalities are capitalized in Italian — as in gli Italiani, gli Americani, i Cinesi (the Italians, the Americans, the Chinese). The names of countries are also capitalized. </div> When travelling around Italy you will certainly hear these terms used to describe an Italian's regional provenance (“He is Calabrian,” for example). Table 3-20 <table width="100%" frame="all"> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td>Region</td> <td>Adjective Form</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Abruzzo</td> <td>abruzzese</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Basilicata</td> <td>lucano</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Calabria</td> <td>calabrese</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Campania</td> <td>campano</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Emilia-Romagna</td> <td>emiliano, romagnolo</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Friuli-Venezia Giulia</td> <td>friulano, giuliano</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Lazio</td> <td>una persona del Lazio</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Liguria</td> <td>ligure</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Lombardia</td> <td>lombardo</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Marche</td> <td>marchigiano</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Molise</td> <td>molisano</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Piemonte</td> <td>piemontese</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Puglia</td> <td>pugliese</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Sardegna</td> <td>sardo</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Sicilia</td> <td>siciliano</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Toscana</td> <td>toscano</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Trentino-Alto Adige</td> <td>trentino, altoatesino</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Umbria</td> <td>umbro</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Valle d'Aosta</td> <td>valdostano</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Veneto</td> <td>veneto</td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <title>Adjectives of Color</h2> Adjectives that denote color always follow the noun they modify. The following is a list of adjectives in their neutral, singular form. The adjectives blu, marrone, arancione, rose, and viola are invariable, and therefore they don't change to reflect the number and gender of the nouns they modify. Table 3-21 <table width="100%" frame="all"> <h2> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td>English</td> <td>Italian</td> </tr> <tr> <td>black</td> <td>nero</td> </tr> <tr> <td>(dark) blue</td> <td>blu</td> </tr> <tr> <td>(pale) blue</td> <td>azzurro</td> </tr> <tr> <td>brown</td> <td>marrone</td> </tr> <tr> <td>gray</td> <td>grigio</td> </tr> <tr> <td>green</td> <td>verde</td> </tr> <tr> <td>orange</td> <td>arancione</td> </tr> <tr> <td>pink</td> <td>rosa</td> </tr> <tr> <td>purple, violet</td> <td>viola</td> </tr> <tr> <td>red</td> <td>rosso</td> </tr> <tr> <td>white</td> <td>bianco</td> </tr> <tr> <td>yellow</td> <td>giallo</td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <title>Placement of Adjectives — Before the Noun</h2> Although most adjectives follow the noun they modify, there are some exceptions. The following is a group of commonly used adjectives that usually precede the nouns they modify. There is no way to tell if an adjective comes before or after a noun simply by looking at it. The best way to learn the correct placement of an adjective is to develop and ear for them! Table 3-22 <table width="100%" frame="all"> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td>Italian</td> <td>English</td> </tr> <tr> <td>altro</td> <td>other</td> </tr> <tr> <td>bello</td> <td>beautiful, nice</td> </tr> <tr> <td>bravo</td> <td>good, capable</td> </tr> <tr> <td>brutto</td> <td>ugly</td> </tr> <tr> <td>buono</td> <td>good</td> </tr> <tr> <td>caro</td> <td>dear</td> </tr> <tr> <td>cattivo</td> <td>bad</td> </tr> <tr> <td>giovane</td> <td>young</td> </tr> <tr> <td>grande</td> <td>big</td> </tr> <tr> <td>lungo</td> <td>long</td> </tr> <tr> <td>molto</td> <td>many</td> </tr> <tr> <td>nuovo</td> <td>new</td> </tr> <tr> <td>piccolo</td> <td>small</td> </tr> <tr> <td>primo</td> <td>first</td> </tr> <tr> <td>stesso</td> <td>same</td> </tr> <tr> <td>stesso</td> <td>same</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ultimo</td> <td>last</td> </tr> <tr> <td>vecchio</td> <td>old</td> </tr> <tr> <td>vero</td> <td>true</td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> 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