Italian nouns are almost always preceded by an article, and the article form changes based on the noun's gender, number, and the sound it starts with. Getting articles right is the foundation of Italian grammar.
Definite articles (the)
Italian has seven forms of 'the'. The right one depends on gender (m/f), number (singular/plural), and the first letter of the noun.
- il canethe dog
- lo zainothe backpack
- l'amicothe friend (m.)
- la casathe house
- le amichethe friends (f.)
Indefinite articles (a / an)
Four forms: un, uno, una, un'. Selection follows the same sound rules as the definite article.
- un libroa book
- uno studentea student (m.)
- una macchinaa car
- un'amicaa friend (f.)
When to use lo / uno
Use lo (definite) and uno (indefinite) before masculine nouns starting with: s+consonant, z, gn, ps, pn, x, y.
- lo spagnolothe Spaniard
- uno zioan uncle
- lo gnoccothe dumpling
- uno psicologoa psychologist
Definite articles
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular (consonant) | il (il cane) | la (la casa) |
| Singular (vowel) | l' (l'amico) | l' (l'amica) |
| Singular (s+cons, z, gn, ps) | lo (lo zaino) | — |
| Plural | i / gli | le |
Plurals: i → il, gli → lo/l', le → la/l'
Indefinite articles
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| Consonant start | un (un libro) | una (una macchina) |
| Vowel start | un (un amico) | un' (un'amica) |
| s+cons, z, gn, ps | uno (uno zaino) | — |