Which definite article do you use - ARTICLES - Easy Learning Italian Grammar

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.