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Italian Articles

What are the articles in Italian?

By: Debora Chellini Fri Aug 30 2024
Italian
Articles

What are the articles in Italian?

  • Definite articles (“the” in English) → il, l',la, lo, i, le, and gli

  • Indefinite articles (“a” and “an” in English) → un, uno, un’, and una

  • Partitive articles (“some” or “any” in English) → del, dello, dell’, della, dei, degli, delle

As you can see, unlike the English ones, articles in Italian have many different forms. The form you use will depend on the gender and number of the noun, as well as on the noun’s first letter.

In this post, we’ll introduce you to the forms of the different Italian articles and discuss when to use each form. We’ll also direct you to some resources you can use to learn about when and why you’ll use different articles in Italian. Read on to learn more!

Table of Contents

    What are the Italian definite articles?

    The definite articles in Italian are il, l’, lo, i,gli , la, and le. These all translate to “the” in English.

    Tip

    Definite articles are used a little differently in Italian vs. English. Check out our post on how to use Italian definite and indefinite articles to learn more!

    Italian uses a different form for the definite article depending on whether the noun that follows it is masculine or feminine, singular and plural.

    • la casa → le case

      the house (f.) → the houses (f.)

    • il banco → i banchi

      the desk (m.) → the desks (m.)

    But the form of the article is also affected by the first letter(s) of the word that come immediately after it. This word is often the noun itself, but can also be a modifier that precedes the noun. Look at the difference here:

    • l’amico(the friend)

    • il migliore amico(the best friend)

    Let’s look first at the masculine definite articles, then the feminine ones.

    Masculine definite articles in Italian

    The masculine definite articles in Italian are il, l’, lo, i, and gli. Here are the rules for when you should use each one:

    Singular Article
    Plural Article
    First letter(s) of the following word
    Example

    il

    i

    before a consonant

    (except those that use lo/gli below)

    il treno → i treni

    the train → the trains

    l’

    gli

    before a vowel

    l’amico → gli amici

    the friend → the friends

    before h

    l’hotel → gli hotel

    the hotel → the hotels

    lo

    gli

    before s + consonant

    lo studente → gli studenti

    the student → the students

    before z

    lo zero → gli zeri

    the zero → the zeros

    before gn

    lo gnomo → gli gnomi

    the gnome → the gnomes

    before ps

    lo psicologo → gli psicologi

    the psychologist → the psychologists

    before y

    lo yogurt → gli yogurt

    the yogurt → the yogurts

    before x

    lo xilofono → gli xilofoni

    the xylophone → the xylophones

    before pn

    lo pneumatico → gli pneumatici

    the tire → the tires

    before i + vowel

    lo iato → gli iati

    the hiatus → the hiatuses

    Exception!

    The singular masculine noun il dio(the god) takes gli in the plural, even though it starts with “d.”

    • gli dei (the gods)

    • dei

    Why? The word dei comes from the old Italian word iddei. Because iddei was a plural masculine noun beginning with a vowel, it took the plural masculine definite article gli. When the old Italian word iddei changed into standard Italian dei, it maintained the old articles gli/degli!

    Tip

    Some of the groups above that take lo/gli are quite small. Check out our table of Italian nouns with articles to see just how small the number of nouns that take lo/gli actually is!

    Feminine definite articles in Italian

    The feminine definite articles in Italian are: la, l’, and le. Here’s when to use each one:

    Singular Article
    Plural Article
    First letter(s) of the following word
    Example

    la

    le

    before a consonant

    la borsa → le borse

    the bag → the bags

    before i + vowel

    la iena → le iene

    the hyena → the hyenas

    l’

    le

    before a vowel

    l’ora → le ore

    the hour → the hours

    Tip

    Did you notice that, when singular words of either gender start with a vowel or h: lo and la drop their vowel and are written with an apostrophe? For example,

    • l’aria(the air) la aria

    • l’olio (the olive oil) il/lo olio

    • l’hotel (the hotel) il/lo hotel

    Why is this? It’s simply to facilitate pronunciation and avoid having two vowel sounds together! In fact when you use an apostrophe the two words are linked together and are pronounced as a single word.

    Proof of the musicality of Italian!

    What are the Italian indefinite articles?

    The indefinite articles in Italian are un, uno, una, un’. All of these roughly translate to “a/an” in English.

    Tip

    Indefinite articles are used a little differently in Italian vs. English. Have a look at our post on how to use Italian definite and indefinite articles to learn more.

    Indefinite articles are only used with singular nouns, but as we saw with definite articles above, the form you use will depend on the gender of the noun and on the first letter(s) of the following word.

    Let’s start with masculine indefinite articles, and then turn to the feminine ones.

    Masculine indefinite articles in Italian

    The masculine indefinite articles in Italian are un and uno. Here’s when to use each one.

    Article
    First letter(s) of the following word
    Example

    un

    before a consonant

    un telefono

    a telephone

    before a vowel

    un orologio

    a watch

    before h

    un hotel

    a hotel

    uno

    before s + consonant

    uno studente

    a student

    before z

    uno zaino

    a backpack

    before gn

    uno gnomo

    a gnome

    before ps

    uno psichiatra

    a psychiatrist

    before y

    uno yeti

    a yeti

    before x

    uno xilofono

    a xylophone

    before pn

    uno pneumologo

    a pulmonologist

    before i + vowel

    uno iettatore

    a jinx

    Tip

    Notice that there is no apostrophe between un and a vowel or un and an h! They are separate words!

    Feminine indefinite articles in Italian

    The feminine indefinite articles in Italian are una and un’. Here’s when to use each one:

    Article
    First letter(s) of the following word
    Example

    una

    before a consonant

    una ragazza

    a girl

    before i + vowel

    una iena

    a hyena

    un’

    before a vowel

    un’amaca

    a hammock

    Tip

    Notice the difference in masculine and feminine before vowels! We say un amico(a friend (m.)) with two words but un’amica(a friend (f.)) as one word!

    What are the Italian partitive articles?

    The Italian partitive articles are del, dello, dell’, della, dell’, dei, degli, and delle. These all translate to “some/any” and they are a combination of the preposition di(of) with a definite article (il, lo, l’, la, and i, gli, le(the)).

    When should you use them?

    • Before a singular noun, they tell your listener that you’re talking about part of a whole food or substance. Use the singular to translate phrases like: “some cake” or “some water.”

    • Before a plural noun, they tell your listener that you’re talking about an undetermined quantity of something, and can be used as plural indefinite articles. Use the plural to translate phrases like “some pens”

    Tip

    You can learn a lot more about when to use partitive articles from our post on how to use Italian partitive articles!

    The form of the partitive article will depend on which definite article you would use with a given noun, so you’ll need to look at the gender and number of the noun, as well as the first letter(s) of the word that immediately follows the article.

    Let’s look at the singular partitive articles first, and then the plural ones.

    Singular partitive articles in Italian

    The singular partitive articles in Italian are del, dell’, dello, and della. The form you use will depend entirely on the form of the definite article that ought to precede a given singular noun.

    di + ildel

    il succo → del succo

    the juice → some juice

    di + lodello

    lo yogurt → dello yogurt

    the yogurt → some yogurt

    di + l’ → dell

    l’agilo → dell’agilo

    the garlic → some garlic

    di + ladella

    la yucca → della yucca

    the yucca → some yucca

    For the full rules, check out the table below!

    Plural partitive articles in Italian

    The plural partitive articles in Italian are dei, degli, and delle. The form you use will depend entirely on the form of the definite article that ought to precede a given plural noun.

    di+idei

    i pianeti → dei pianeti

    the planet → some plane

    di+ledelle

    le amiche → delle amiche

    the friends → some friends

    di+glidegli

    gli gnocchi → degli gnocchi

    the dumplings → some dumplings

    Tip

    Remember how dei(gods) took gli as its plural definite article, even though it starts with “d?” It also takes gli as its partitive article, because the partitive article is just de + the definite article!

    • degli dei (some gods)

    • dei dei

    For the full rules, have a look at the table in the next section.

    More examples of partitive articles in Italian

    The tables below show more examples of partitive articles, along with the full rules for choosing the partitive article to use before different masculine and feminine nouns in Italian.

    Masculine partitive articles in Italian
    Singular Partitive Article
    Plural Partitive Article
    First letter(s) of the following word
    Examples

    del

    di + il/i

    dei

    di + i

    before (most) consonants

    del succo

    some juice

    dei pianeti

    some planets

    dell’

    di + l’

    degli

    di + gli

    before (most) vowels

    dell’aglio

    some garlic

    degli orologi

    some watches

    dello(di + lo)

    di + lo

    degli

    di + gli

    before s + consonant

    dello speck

    some smoked ham

    degli scolari

    some pupils

    before z

    dello zinco

    some zinc

    degli zeri

    some zeros

    before gn

    dello gnocco

    some dumpling

    degli gnocchi

    some dumplings

    before y

    dello yogurt

    some yogurt

    degli yacht

    some yachts

    before x

    dello xilema

    some xylem

    degli xilofoni

    some xylophones

    before i + vowel

    dello iodio

    some iodine

    degli ioni

    some ions

    Feminine partitive articles in Italian
    Singular Partitive Article
    Plural Partitive Article
    First letter(s) of the following word
    Examples

    della

    di + la

    delle

    di + le

    before (most) consonants

    della yucca

    some yucca

    delle borse

    some bags

    before i + vowel

    della iuta

    some jute

    delle iene

    some hyenas

    dell’

    di + l’

    degli

    di + le

    before a vowel

    dell’arancia

    some orange

    delle amiche

    some friends

    Summary

    In conclusion, for each type of article, definite, indefinite, and partitive, let’s keep in mind that there are three questions you need to ask yourself to help you decide which article to use in Italian:

    • Is the noun they precede masculine or feminine?

    • Is it singular or plural?

    • Does the word they precede begin with a consonant, a vowel, an h, with s + another consonant, z, gn, pn, ps, x, y, or i + vowel?

    Now it is time to practice with our exercises! Proviamo!(Let’s try!)

    Downloadable Resources

    Elevate your language-learning journey to new heights with the following downloadable resources.

    Which are the Italian articles~Italian articlesWhich are the Italian articles~Activities

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