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Grammar Basics: Nouns, Articles, and Adjectives

Kinds of Nouns
Plurals of Nouns
Introduction to Articles

Introduction to Articles by Ronald Glenn Wrigley

In English, there are two types of articles — indefinite and definite. A and an are indefinite articles. They are used before singular nouns and don't refer to anything specific (a city, an eagle). The is a definite article. It is used before a singular noun and refers to a specific noun (the game, the king). Articles are a little more complicated in Italian, but they're easy to keep straight with a little practice.

In Italian, the correct formation of the indefinite article is determined by the gender (masculine or feminine) of the noun that it precedes. The correct formation of the definite article depends on the number (singular or plural) and gender (masculine or feminine) of the noun that it precedes.

Indefinite Articles

The indefinite article, the equivalent of a or an in English, has the form un or uno for masculine nouns, and un' and una for feminine nouns. Look at the first letter of the word in order to come up with the correct form of the indefinite article.

Table 3-16

If the first letter of the noun is …	Masculine	Feminine
a consonant	un ragazzo	una casa
a vowel	un amico	un'amica
s+consonant	uno stadio	una studentessa
z	uno zero	una zebra

Definite Articles</h2> <p>The formation of the definite article (corresponds to the word <B>the</B> in English) is a bit more complicated. There are seven forms of the definite article in Italian. <B>Il</B>, <B>l'</B>, <B>lo</B>, <B>i</B>, and <B>gli</B> are all masculine, and <B>la</B>, <B>l'</B>, <B>le</B> are all feminine. In order to determine the correct form of the definite article, look at the initial letter of the noun, and its gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural).</p> <p><B>Table 3-17</B></p> <p><B>Masculine Articles</B></p> <table width="100%" frame="all"> <h2> <tgroup cols="3"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <colspec colname="col3" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><B>If the first letter of the word is …</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Singular</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Plural</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>a consonant</p></td> <td><p><B>il lago</B></p></td> <td><p><B>i laghi</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>a vowel</p></td> <td><p><B>l'amico</B></p></td> <td><p><B>gli amici</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>s + consonant</p></td> <td><p><B>lo studente</B></p></td> <td><p><B>gli studenti</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>the letter z</p></td> <td><p><B>lo zero</B></p></td> <td><p><B>gli zeri</B></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <p><B>Table 3-18</B></p> <p><B>Feminine Articles</B></p> <table width="100%" frame="all"> <tgroup cols="3"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <colspec colname="col3" colnum="3"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><B>If the first letter of the word is …</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Singular</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Plural</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>a consonant</p></td> <td><p><B>la ragazza</B></p></td> <td><p><B>le ragazze</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>a vowel</p></td> <td><p><B>l'amica</B></p></td> <td><p><B>le amiche</B></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <title>Exercise 3-4</h2> <p>To practice your spoken Italian and to develop an ear for recognizing definite and indefinite articles, repeat the articles and nouns after the narrator. Is there a definite or indefinite article preceding the noun? Circle the correct answer.</p> <p></p> <table width="100%" frame="all"> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p>1. <B>il calendario</B></p></td> <td><p>definite or indefinite article</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>2. <B>un'amica</B></p></td> <td><p>definite or indefinite article</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>3. <B>gli sport</B></p></td> <td><p>definite or indefinite article</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>4. <B>la macchina</B></p></td> <td><p>definite or indefinite article</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>5. <B>un telefono</B></p></td> <td><p>definite or indefinite article</p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table>  <div id="pagination"><ul><li class="prev"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/learning-italian/grammar-basics-nouns-articles-and-adjectives/plurals-of-nouns.htm" title="Plurals of Nouns">Plurals of Nouns</a></li><li class="next"><a 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