After reading this article, you will be able to construct your first sentences in Italian. At the end of each topic, you will find a short exercise to check if you have understood the lesson.
Are you thinking to start learning Italian, or do you want to brush up on your basic knowledge? This article is made just for you! This is the first article of a basic Italian course that I will publish here on italki. Don't hesitate to send me your exercises if you want the correction of them (for free of course).
Lesson Number 1:
- Definite and indefinite articles
- Gender words
- Days, months, and how to say the date
Definite Articles – Articoli Determinativi
The definite articles are: il, lo, la, i, gli, le, l’.
Singular Definite Articles
Il is used before masculine singular nouns that start with a consonant.
- il bambino (the kid)
- il sole (the sun)
Lo is used before masculine singular nouns that start with:
- s + consonant - lo studente (the student)
- pn - lo pneumatico (the pneumatic)
- ps - lo psicologo (the psychologist)
- gn - lo gnomo (the dwarf)
- z - lo zaino (the backpack)
- x - lo xilofono (the xylophone)
- y - lo yogurt (the yogurt)
La is used before feminine singular nouns that start with a consonant.
- la bambina (the feminine kid)
- la matita (the pencil)
L’ is used before both masculine and feminine singular nouns.
- l’albero (the tree, masculine)
- l’acqua (the water, feminine)
|
Gender |
Definite Articles |
In front of which nouns? |
|
Singular |
Depends on the first letter of the noun |
|
|
Masculine |
il |
Nouns that start with a consonant |
|
lo |
Nouns that start with z, s + consonant, x, y, ps, gn, pn |
|
|
l’ |
Nouns that start with a vowel |
|
|
Feminine |
la |
Nouns that start with a consonant |
|
l’ |
Nouns that start with a vowel |
Plural Definite Articles
I is used before masculine plural nouns that start with a consonant.
- i bambini (the kids)
- i soli (the suns)
Gli is used before masculine plural nouns that start with:
- s + consonant - gli studenti (the students)
- pn - gli pneumatici (the pneumatics)
- ps - gli psicologi (the psychologists)
- gn - gli gnomi (the dwarfs)
- z - gli zaini (the backpacks)
- x - gli xilofoni (the xylophones)
- y - gli yogurt (the yogurts)
Le is used before feminine plural nouns.
- le bambine (the feminine kids)
- le matite (the pencils)
|
Gender |
Definite Articles |
In front of which nouns? |
|
Plural |
Depends on the first letter of the noun |
|
|
Masculine |
i |
Nouns that start with a consonant |
|
gli |
Nouns that start with z, s + consonant, x, y, ps, gn, pn |
|
|
gli |
Nouns that start with a vowel |
|
|
Feminine |
le |
Nouns that start with a consonant |
|
le |
Nouns that start with a vowel |
Indefinite Articles – Articoli Indeterminativi
The indefinite articles are un, uno, una, and un’.
Un is used before masculine nouns that start with a vowel or a consonant. It doesn't need the apostrophe.
- un amico (the friend)
- un bambino (the kid)
It doesn't need the apostrophe because un is masculine and used with masculine nouns. So you don't have to cut out any letters. We'll see the difference with the feminine word in a minute.
Una is used before feminine nouns.
- una bambina (a feminine kid)
- una matita (a pencil)
If you have una + feminine noun starting with a vowel, you will cut out the a from una and replace it with the apostrophe. So you have un’. For example, you won't say una amica, but un'amica (a feminine friend). It sounds better, right?
Uno is used before masculine nouns that start with:
- s + consonant - lo studente (a student)
- pn - uno pneumatico (a pneumatic)
- ps - uno psicologo (a psychologist)
- gn - uno gnomo (a dwarf)
- z - uno zaino (a backpack)
- x - uno xilofono (a xylophone)
- y - uno yogurt (a yogurt)
|
Gender |
Indefinite Articles |
In front of which nouns? |
|
Singular |
Depends on the first letter of the noun |
|
|
Masculine |
un |
Nouns that start with a consonant |
|
uno |
Nouns that start with z, s + consonant, x, y, ps, gn, pn |
|
|
un |
Nouns that start with a vowel |
|
|
Feminine |
una |
Nouns that start with a consonant |
|
un’ |
Nouns that start with a vowel |
Now, let's look at the plural form. The indefinite articles have no plural form, however, it can be formed using the partitive articles dei, delle, etc. that correspond to the English word "some." We'll study the partitive articles more in another lesson.
Recap + Exercises
|
Gender |
Definite Articles |
Indefinite Articles |
In front of which nouns? |
|
|
Singular |
Plural |
Only singular |
Depends on the first letter of the noun |
|
|
Masculine |
il |
i |
un |
Nouns that start with a consonant |
|
lo |
gli |
uno |
Nouns that start with z, s+consonant, x, y, ps, gn, pn |
|
|
l’ |
gli |
un |
Nouns that start with a vowel |
|
|
Feminine |
la |
le |
una |
Nouns that start with a consonant |
|
l’ |
le |
un’ |
Nouns that start with a vowel |
|
1. Choose the correct article.
- il / lo - una zio
- un / un’ - uno albero
- la / le - un cattedrale
- lo / l’ - il esercito
- il / gli - i articoli
2. Insert the correct definite article.
- . . . . . . . albero
- . . . . . . . vita
- . . . . . . . capelli
- . . . . . . . spinaci
The Nouns – I Nomi (singular)
Italian nouns (i nomi) always end in a vowel. All nouns in Italian have a gender (il genere); they are either masculine or feminine, even when referring not to people but to things, qualities, or ideas.
Generally, nouns ending in -o are masculine.
- l’amico (friend)
- il bambino (kid)
- il treno (train)
And nouns ending in –a/à or ù are feminine.
- l’amica (female friend
- la bambina (female kid)
- la sincerità (sincerity)
- la gioventù (youth)
Nouns ending in –e/è may be masculine or feminine. The gender of these nouns must be memorized.
Masculine:
- lo studente (student)
- il ristorante (restaurant)
- il caffè (coffee)
Feminine:
- l’automobile (car)
- la notte (night)
- l’arte (art)
Nouns ending in –i/ì may be masculine or feminine. The gender of these nouns must be memorized.
Masculine:
- lo sci (ski)
- il brindisi (toast)
- il lunedì (Monday)
Feminine:
- l’oasi (oasi)
- l’analisi (analysis)
Nouns that end in a consonant are of foreign origin and they are usually masculine.
- il bar
- l’autobus (bus)
- il film
- lo sport
Recap + Exercises
In the following chart you can find more examples and some exceptions (unfortunately, Italian is full of exceptions to the rule).
Now that you know the rules of the Italian articles and nouns, you are able to write the correct definite article or the correct ending of these nouns (pay attention to the exceptions).
- La lezion.....
- ..... problema
- ….. bontà
- Il cugin…..
- ….. formaggio
- ….. papà
- La carn…..
- ….. giovedì
- ….. salame
- …..mano
Days of the Week + Months
Since we have just seen how articles agree with nouns, the days of the week, or giorni della settimana, give us the perfect chance to practice this rule a bit.
As you saw before, nouns ending in –ì can be either masculine or feminine. The days of the week are all masculine and end with –ì.
- lunedì - Monday
- martedì - Tuesday
- mercoledì - Wednesday
- giovedì - Thursday
- venerdì - Friday
Regarding the weekend (il fine settimana), we have:
- sabato - Saturday
Since it ends with –o, it is a masculine noun: il sabato. And we also have:
- domenica - Sunday
Since it ends with –a, it is a feminine noun: la domenica.
Why is it important to know the gender of the day of the week? Because if you want to talk about a specific Monday, Tuesday, etc., you will just add the day of week.
For example:
- Lunedì vado dal dottore. I am going to the doctor on Monday.
From this sentence I understand that next Monday, the first Monday that will come next, you are going to the doctor.
If you add the magical definite article before the day of the week, it changes the meaning of the sentence:
- Il lunedì vado dal dottore. I go to the doctor on Mondays.
From this sentence I understand that you go to the doctor every Monday--although if this is the case, I am sorry for you!
All the days of the week besides Sunday are masculine, so you will always use the definite article il.
il lunedì, il martedì, il mercoledì, il giovedì, il venerdì, il sabato
Since Sunday is feminine, it requires the feminine definite article la.
La domenica
As you guessed from some sentences before, week in Italian is settimana.
- settimana - week
- giorni feriali - workdays
- fine settimana - weekend
To be sure that you won't dare buca a qualcuno (stand someone up), it is better to also learn some expressions to talk about the date in Italian.
These are some basic expressions that will help you in everyday life:
- Che giorno è? What day is today?
- Quando ci vediamo? When will see each other?
- Qual è la data di oggi? What is today's date?
Some possibilities to answer:
- oggi - today
- stasera - tonight
- domani - tomorrow
- domani mattina - tomorrow morning
- domani sera - tomorrow evening
- questa settimana - this week
- settimana prossima - next week
At this point, how can we not mention the months of the year?
- gennaio - January
- febbraio - February
- marzo - March
- aprile - April
- maggio - May
- giugno - June
- luglio - July
- agosto - August
- settembre - September
- ottobre - October
- novembre - November
- dicembre - December
On a very quick note: Italians don't capitalize the days of the week or the months!
In the next article we'll see:
- Personal subject pronouns
- Auxiliary verbs “to be” (essere) and “to have” (avere)
- Expressing feelings and needs
- Numbers and how to say your age
Thank you for reading the article, if you find it useful, you can like it or leave a comment. And don't forget that you can send me your exercises for corrections!
