Easy Learning Italian Grammar (2011)
ARTICLES
2. Which definite article do you use?
The definite article to use for masculine singular nouns is:
il with most nouns starting with a consonant.
il ragazzo |
the boy |
il cellulare |
the mobile phone |
lo with nouns starting with z, or s + another consonant, gn, pn, ps, x or y.
lo zio |
the uncle |
lo studente |
the student |
lo pneumatico |
the tyre |
lo psichiatra |
the psychiatrist |
lo yogurt |
the yoghurt |
l’ with all nouns starting with a vowel.
l’ospedale |
the hospital |
l’albergo |
the hotel |
The definite article to use for masculine plural nouns is:
i with most nouns starting with a consonant.
i fratelli |
the brothers |
i cellulari |
the mobile phones |
gli with nouns starting with z, s + another consonant, gn, pn, ps, x or y.
gli studenti |
the students |
gli zii |
the uncles |
gli gnocchi |
the gnocchi |
gli pneumatici |
the tyres |
gli yogurt |
the yoghurts |
gli with all nouns starting with a vowel.
gli amici |
the friends |
gli orari |
the timetables |
The definite article to use for feminine singular nouns is:
la with all nouns starting with a consonant.
la ragazza |
the girl |
la macchina |
the car |
l’ with all nouns starting with a vowel.
l’amica |
the (girl)friend |
l’arancia |
the orange |
The definite article to use for feminine plural nouns is:
le with all nouns, whether they start with a consonant or a vowel.
le ragazze |
the girls |
le amiche |
the (girl)friends |
Tip
When you’re learning vocabulary, remember to learn the article that goes with each noun.
Note that the article you choose depends on the first or first two letters of the following word, which can be an adjective or a noun.
l’amico |
the friend |
BUT |
|
il migliore amico |
the best friend |
lo studente |
the student |
BUT |
|
il migliore studente |
the best student |
gli studenti |
the students |
BUT |
|
i migliori studenti |
the best students |
For more information on Adjectives, see page 20.