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As
we have studied in the previous post, usually masculine
nouns
end with the vowel –o
and
feminine
nouns
end with the vowel –a.
Nouns that end with the vowel –e,
instead, can be masculine or feminine.
However,
in Italian there are some nouns with particular ending that follow
different rules and form the plural in a particular way.
NOUNS
THAT END WITH –ISTA
In Italian there are some
nouns that end with –ista, particularly those concerning
professions. These nouns don’t change with the gender, so masculine
and feminine nouns have the same form. But they change in the plural.
Masculine nouns that
end with –ISTA make the plural by changing the vowel –A
with –I, while
feminine nouns
make the plural by changing the vowel –A with
–E.
- il / la giornalista (the journalist) i giornalisti le giornaliste
- lo / la stilista (the fashion designer) gli stilisti le stiliste
- il / la tennista (the tennis player) i tennisti le tenniste
- il / la farmacista (the pharmacist) i farmacisti le farmaciste
Remember that some nouns
that end with –ista don’t belong to this category but they
are common feminine nouns (examples: rivista = magazine,
intervista = interview, lista = list).
NOUNS
THAT END WITH –CIA E –GIA
Nouns that end with –CIA
and –GIA make the plural in a different way, depending
on whether there is a vowel or a consonant before the final ending
–cia and –gia. If there is a vowel (a,
e, i, o, u) before, we can form the plural by changing the vowel –A
with –E.
- camicia / camicie = shirt / shirts
- ciliegia / ciliegie = cherry / cherries
- valigia / valigie = suitcase / suitcases
If there is a a consonant
before –cia and –gia,
we can form the plural by changing the vowel –A with –E,
after we have cancelled the vowel -I.
- arancia / arance = orange / oranges
- roccia / rocce = rock / rocks
- spiaggia / spiagge = beach / beaches
- frangia / frange = fringe / fringes
NOUNS
THAT END WITH –CO, –GO, –CA, –GA
Masculine nouns that
end with –CO and –GO usually in the plural change
the ending in –CHI and –GHI. The same rule apply to
feminine nouns.
- cuoco / cuochi = chef / chefs
- fuoco / fuochi = fire / fires
- parco / parchi = park / parks
- albergo / alberghi = hotel / hotels
- lago / laghi = lake / lakes
- amica / amiche = friend / friends
- fabbrica / fabbriche = factory / factories
- strega / streghe = witch / witches
There are, however, many
exceptions.
- amico / amici = friend / friends
- farmaco / farmaci = medicine / medicines
- medico / medici = doctor / doctors
- monaco / monaci = monk / monks
- sindaco / sindaci = mayor / mayors