Language/Italian/Grammar/Gender

Italian Grammar - Gender

Hi Italian learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn one of the most important aspects of Italian grammar: gender. Grammatical gender is a system of noun classification based on the endings of words. It is important to understand gender because it affects the forms of adjectives, articles, and pronouns that we use.

Take some time to dive into these other pages after completing this lesson: Present Tense & Conditional Subjunctive.

What is Grammatical Gender in Italian?

In Italian, nouns are divided into two main genders: masculine and feminine, and their endings are the key to telling them apart. For example, masculine nouns usually end in -o or -e, whereas feminine nouns typically end in -a or -zione. However, there are also many exceptions to these general rules, so it is essential to memorize the gender of each noun.

One interesting fact is that some words have different meanings depending on their gender, such as "il capital" (masculine) meaning capital or "la capitale" (feminine) meaning capital city.

Determining the Gender of Nouns

Italian has several rules that can help us determine whether a noun is masculine or feminine, but sometimes it is simply a matter of memorization. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

- Nouns ending in -o are usually masculine, e.g. "treno" (train). - Nouns ending in -a are usually feminine, e.g. "casa" (house). - Nouns ending in -e can be either masculine or feminine, e.g. "dottore" (doctor, masculine) or "notte" (night, feminine). - Nouns ending in -zione are usually feminine, e.g. "nazione" (nation). - Nouns ending in -tà are usually feminine, e.g. "città" (city). - Nouns ending in -ma are usually masculine, e.g. "problema" (problem). - Nouns that indicate people (or animals) are usually masculine if they end in -o and feminine if they end in -a, e.g. "ragazzo" (boy) and "ragazza" (girl).

Here are some examples of Italian nouns with their genders:

Italian	Pronunciation	English
macchina	/makˈkiːna/	car (feminine)
cane	/ˈkaːne/	dog (masculine)
bicchiere	/bikˈkjɛːre/	glass (masculine)
gatto	/ˈɡatto/	cat (masculine)
casa	/ˈkaza/	house (feminine)
piazza	/ˈpjattsa/	square (feminine)

Notice that the articles and adjectives used with these nouns change according to their gender.

Articles and Adjectives

In Italian, articles and adjectives must agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify. This means that if the noun is feminine and singular, the article and adjective must also be feminine and singular. For example:

• "la casa rossa" (the red house, feminine singular)
• "il cane nero" (the black dog, masculine singular)
• "le piazze grandi" (the big squares, feminine plural)
• "i gatti piccoli" (the small cats, masculine plural)

Here are some common indefinite articles used in Italian:

Italian	Pronunciation	English
un	/un/	a (masculine singular)
uno	/ˈuːno/	a (masculine singular, before words starting by "s+consonant", "z", "gn", "ps", "x")
una	/ˈuːna/	a (feminine singular)
dei	/dei/	some (masculine plural)
delle	/ˈdɛlle/	some (feminine plural)

And some common adjectives:

Italian	Pronunciation	English
grande	/ˈɡrande/	big
piccolo	/ˈpikkolo/	small
bello	/ˈbɛllo/	beautiful, handsome
buono	/ˈbwɔːno/	good

Dialogue

Here's an example of a dialogue between two friends discussing the gender of Italian nouns:

• Giuseppe: "Ciao Marco, come stai?"
• Marco: "Ciao Giuseppe, sto bene grazie. E tu?"
• Giuseppe: "Anch'io, grazie. Sai, sto avendo difficoltà con il genere dei sostantivi in italiano."
• Marco: "Ah, capisco. È un argomento importante."
• Giuseppe: "Sì, Esatto! Ho un esempio: com'è possibile che 'problema' sia maschile, ma 'soluzione' sia femminile?"
• Marco: "Bella domanda! Non c'è una regola specifica qui, purtroppo. È solo una questione di pratica."
• Giuseppe: "Capisco. Grazie!"

Practice

To practice the gender of Italian nouns, here are some exercises:

1. Indicate the gender of the following nouns:

| Noun || Gender |:-:|:-: | libro || | amico || | bicicletta || | città || | pizza ||

2. Write the correct article and adjective for each sentence:

• "Ho visto ____ ragazza interessante oggi." (feminine singular)
• "Aldo ha comprato ____ telefono nuovo." (masculine singular)
• "____ pizze sono molto gustose." (feminine plural)
• "Maria e Marco hanno ____ figli gemelli." (masculine plural)

Conclusion

In conclusion, learning the gender of Italian nouns is essential to speaking and writing in Italian accurately. While there are some general rules to follow, it mostly comes down to memorization and practice. Remember to use Italian-English dictionaries to check the gender of unknown words, and practice with some native speakers on Polyglot Club! Don't be afraid to make mistakes, because they are an essential part of the learning process.

➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Sources

• Gender of nouns and adjectives: Italian grammar lesson
• How do you work out the gender of Italian nouns? - Grammar
• M or F? A Quick Guide to Italian Gender Rules

Well done on mastering this lesson! Don't miss these related pages to expand your knowledge: Congiuntivo Passato & Imperfect Tense.

Other Lessons

• Plurals
• Plural
• Future Tense
• Past Tense
• How to Use Have
• Present Tense
• Definite Articles in Italian
• Accents
• Accent mark to distinguish a word
• Do and Say