Articles (Articoli)

Italian articles must agree in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the noun they modify.

Definite Articles (The)

Masculine

• il - before most masculine singular nouns (il libro - the book)
• lo - before masculine singular nouns starting with s+consonant, z, gn, ps, x, y (lo studente - the student)
• l’ - before masculine singular nouns starting with a vowel (l’amico - the friend)
• i - plural of il (i libri - the books)
• gli - plural of lo and l’ (gli studenti, gli amici)

Feminine

• la - before most feminine singular nouns (la casa - the house)
• l’ - before feminine singular nouns starting with a vowel (l’amica - the friend)
• le - plural of la and l’ (le case, le amiche - the houses, the friends)

Indefinite Articles (A/An)

Masculine

• un - before most masculine nouns (un libro - a book)
• uno - before masculine nouns starting with s+consonant, z, gn, ps, x, y (uno studente - a student)

Feminine

• una - before most feminine nouns (una casa - a house)
• un’ - before feminine nouns starting with a vowel (un’amica - a friend)

Examples

1. Il gatto è nero. - The cat is black.
2. Ho un’idea. - I have an idea.
3. Gli studenti studiano. - The students study.
4. Una donna cammina. - A woman walks.