You know how we have a singular form and a plural form for our nouns in English?
While ours in English are easier and tend to just be ‘flower’ becomes ‘flowers’, the two forms exist in Italian too.
First, you should be aware that there is a masculine and feminine form to each noun.
That’s definitely different than English.
Here’s a super easy-peasy rule:
Nouns ending in -o are masculine, and nouns ending in -a are feminine…usually.
Nope, no rules are definite.
Probably symbolic for life or something.
Per esempio, treno is masculine and casa is feminine.
Here’s where it can get wonky.
Ristorante is masculine.
Stazione is feminine.
Grammar note: The majority of nouns that end in -zione, -gione, -sione, -tà, -tù, -udine, -i, and -ie are feminine.
Per esempio, la crisi, l’abitudine, e l’università
Also, nouns ending in -ore or a consonant are always masculine.
Like, sport or bar, which, fun for you, are Italian words that are the same in English.
Now that that’s settled, let’s move on to the singular & plural business.
You change a noun from singular to plural by changing the final vowel of the word or the last couple of letters.
It really depends…per usual.
Here are the general rules:
Ends in -o –> -i
e.g. tentativo –> tentativi
Ends in -a –> -e
e.g. volta –> volte
Ends in -e –> -i
e.g. stazione –> stazioni
However!
There are some nouns that just don’t ever change because they’re boss like that.
Some are:
Città
Caffè
{Bar, Film, Computer} – Because they end in a consonant!
Then, some nouns are abbreviated, which are always super tricky and trip me up.
A couple are:
Cinema, which is short for cinematografo
Foto, which is short for fotografia
Another rule is that nouns ending in -ca and -ga add a little ‘h’ right in between.
Per esempio, amica –> amiche & riga –> righe
Finally!
If it ends in -io, it just changes to -i. No double i’s here.
Per esempio, negozio –> negozi, ufficio –> uffici, and figlio –> figli
I know. I know.
Lots of rules.
Just be aware that they exist, and we’re going to put them use in actual conversation.
Don’t try & memorize anything.
You’ll learn in the process. I promise.
In the comments below, tell me how you’re feeling about Italian so far.
[photo credit: Stefano Constantini]
[…] *Don’t know what the difference between masculine and feminine nouns are? Read this post to find out. […]