Language/Italian/Grammar/Nouns

Italian Grammar - Nouns

Hi Italian learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will be focusing on one of the most important aspects of the Italian language: NOUNS!

Introduction

As you probably know, a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea. In Italian, nouns have gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). In this lesson, we will learn about the different endings for Italian nouns, and how to use them correctly in sentences.

Gender

In Italian, every noun is either masculine or feminine. It is important to note that this doesn't necessarily refer to the gender of the object, but rather it is simply a grammatical feature of the language.

Here are some rules for determining the gender of a noun:

• Nouns that end in -o are usually masculine: "ragazzo" (boy), "treno" (train)
• Nouns that end in -a are usually feminine: "ragazza" (girl), "casa" (house)
• There are some exceptions, such as "dente" (tooth), which is masculine, even though it ends in -e.

But how do you know the gender of a noun that doesn't follow these rules? Unfortunately, there is no easy answer, and it often comes down to simply memorizing the gender along with the noun.

Dialogue

• Person 1: Ho comprato un regalo per mia sorella. ("I bought a gift for my sister.")
• Person 2: Che bello! Cosa hai comprato? ("How nice! What did you buy?")
• Person 1: Ho comprato una borsa. ("I bought a purse.")
• Person 2: Ah capisco, è una borsa molto carina. ("Ah I see, it's a very pretty purse.")

Examples

Here are some examples of Italian nouns with their gender and English translation:

Italian	Pronunciation	English
libro	/lɪˈbrɔ/	book (masculine)
mela	/ˈmɛl.a/	apple (feminine)
pesce	/ˈpɛs.tʃe/	fish (masculine)
casa	/ˈkaː.sa/	house (feminine)

Number

In Italian, nouns also have number, which means they can be singular (referring to one person, place, thing, or idea) or plural (referring to more than one).

Here are the common ways Italian nouns become plural:

• Nouns that end in -o are usually made plural by changing the -o to -i: "ragazzo" (boy) becomes "ragazzi" (boys)
• Nouns that end in -a are usually made plural by changing the -a to -e: "ragazza" (girl) becomes "ragazze" (girls)
• Nouns that end in -e can be either masculine or feminine, and are usually made plural by adding -i: "studente" (male student) becomes "studenti" (male students) and "studentessa" (female student) becomes "studentesse" (female students)
• Nouns that end in -co, -go, -ca, or -ga usually have their ending changed to -chi and -ghe, respectively: "amico" (friend) becomes "amici" (friends), and "amica" (female friend) becomes "amiche" (female friends).

Dialogue

• Person 1: Hai visto quanti fiori ci sono nel parco? ("Have you seen how many flowers there are in the park?")
• Person 2: Si, sono bellissimi! Quali ti piacciono di più? ("Yes, they're beautiful! Which ones do you like the most?")
• Person 1: Mi piacciono i tulipani rossi. ("I like the red tulips.")
• Person 2: Sì, anch'io li trovo molto belli. ("Yes, I find them very beautiful too.")

Examples

Here are some examples of Italian nouns in both singular and plural form:

Italian Singular	Pronunciation	Italian Plural	Pronunciation	English
libro	/lɪˈbrɔ/	libri	/ˈli.bri/	books
mela	/ˈmɛl.a/	mele	/ˈme.le/	apples
studente	/stuˈdɛnte/	studenti	/stuˈdɛnti/	(male) students
studentessa	/studenˈtɛssa/	studentesse	/studenˈtesse/	(female) students

Irregular Nouns

Of course, as with any language, there are always exceptions to the rules. Some Italian nouns don't follow the patterns we've outlined above, and must be memorized individually. Here are a few examples:

Italian Singular	Pronunciation	Italian Plural	Pronunciation	English
uomo	/ˈwɔ.mo/	uomini	/ˈu̯ɔː.meni/	man/men
donna	/ˈdɔn.na/	donne	/ˈdɔn.ne/	woman/women
città	/ˈtʃit.ta/	città	/ˈtʃit.ta/	city/cities
dente	/ˈdent.e/	denti	/ˈdent.i/	tooth/teeth

Dialogue

• Person 1: Ho bisogno di comprare una maglietta. ("I need to buy a t-shirt.")
• Person 2: Certo, qual è la tua taglia? ("Sure, what's your size?")
• Person 1: Porta la XL. ("I wear XL.")
• Person 2: Ok, ma guarda che in Italia le taglie sono diverse dagli Stati Uniti. ("Ok, but keep in mind that sizes in Italy are different from the United States.")

Conclusion

Nouns are an essential part of any language, and mastering them is crucial to becoming proficient in Italian. Remember to pay attention to the gender and number of nouns, and to practice using them in sentences. To improve your Italian Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

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Sources

• Italian Nouns
• Italian Grammar
• Italian Language