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Definite articles (articoli
determinativi) are used when it is clear which thing or person we
are talking about. While in English definite articles has only one
form (the), in Italian they have different forms according to
the gender
(genere)
and the number (numero)
of the noun they refer to. This means that the articles we use
with masculine nouns are different from those we use with feminine
nouns and there is also a difference between singular and plural
nouns.
These are the articles we use with masculine and feminine nouns.
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Let’s start to see the
definite articles we use with masculine nouns.
IL is used for
masculine nouns
(singular)
that start with consonant. For plural nouns we use the
article I.
- il bambino / i bambini (the child / the children)
- il libro / i libri (the book / the books)
- il quadro / i quadri (the painting / the paintings)
L’ is used for
masculine nouns
(singular) that start with
vowel. For plural nouns we use the article GLI.
- l'albero / gli alberi (the tree / the trees)
- l'orologio / gli orologi (the watch / the watches)
- l'aereo / gli aerei (the plane / the planes)
LO is used for
masculine nouns
(singular) that start with
some particular consonants: s + consonant, z,
gn, ps, pn,
x, y. For
plural nouns we use
the article GLI.
- lo studente / gli studenti (the student / the students)
- lo zaino / gli zaini (the backpack / the backpacks)
- lo yogurt / gli yogurt (the yoghurt / the yoghurts)
Let’s
see now the definite articles we use with feminine nouns.
LA is used for
feminine nouns
(singular)
that start with consonant. For plural nouns we use the
article LE.
- la casa / le case (the house / the houses)
- la borsa / le borse (the bag / the bags)
- la matita / le matite (the pencil / the pencils)
L’ is used for
feminine nouns (singular)
that start with vowel. For plural nouns we use
the article LE.
- l'arancia / le arance (the orange / the oranges)
- l'amica / le amiche (the friend / the friends)
- l'isola / le isole (the island / the islands)