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Italian indefinite articles
(articoli indeterminativi),
which correspond to the English articles a/an, are used
when we are thinking of one thing or person we don’t know in a
specific way. As we have studied for definite articles, also these
articles have different forms related to the gender and the
number of the noun they refer to.
Let’s start to see the
indefinite articles for masculine nouns.
UN: it is used for
masculine nouns, singular that start with consonant or vowel.
For the plural form of
indefinite articles, we use the partitive articles (articoli
partitivi). They express an approximate quantity and
translate the English words some or any.
Partitives are formed combining the
simple preposition DI with definite articles.
- un bicchiere / dei bicchieri (a glass / glasses)
- un uccello / degli uccelli (a bird / birds)
UNO: it is used for
masculine nouns, singular that start with s + consonant, z, gn, ps,
pn, x,
y.
- uno stereo / degli stereo (a stereo / stereos)
- uno zoccolo / degli zoccoli (a clog / clogs)
- uno gnu / degli gnu (a gnu / gnus)
- uno psichiatra / degli psichiatri (a psychiatrist / psychiatrists)
- uno xenofobo / degli xenofobi (a xenophobe / xenophobes)
Let’s see now the indefinite articles for feminine nouns.
UNA: it is used for
feminine nouns, singular that start with consonant.
- una barca / delle barche (a boat / boats)
- una ragazza / delle ragazze (a girl / girls)
UN’: it is used for
feminine nouns, singular that start with vowel.
- un'aquila / delle aquile (an eagle / eagles)