Italian Grammar Bank
ITALIAN PLURAL NOUNS
Having studied the gender of singular nouns in the previous lesson, it is time to look at the gender of plural nouns.
As with singular nouns, also for plural nouns there are fixed rules, yet there are numerous exceptions.
PLURAL DEFINITE ARTICLES
In Italian, there are 3 definite articles, that all correspond to the English “the”.
| I | Gli | Le |
✅ if the article of a singular noun is “il” then in the plural it will be “I”;
✅ if in the singular is “lo”, then in the plural it is going to be “GLI”;
✅ and lastly, if in the singular is “la”, in the plural it will have “Le”
PLURAL NOUNS
For most nouns, the formation of the plural follows these simple rules:
➡️ nouns that end in -o in the singular end in the plural end in -i;
| Il gatto | I gatti | Cats |
| Il libro | I libri | Books |
| Il quaderno | I quaderni | Notebooks |
➡️ nouns that end in -e in the singular also form the plural in -i;
| Il cane | I cani | Dogs |
| La nave | Le navi | Ships |
| Il pesce | I pesci | fishes |
➡️ feminine nouns that end in -a in the singular, in the plural, come out in -e;
| La bambina | Le bambine | Children |
| La casa | Le case | Houses |
| La scuola | Le scuole | Schools |
➡️ male nouns that end in -a in the singular form the plural in -i.
| Il pirata | I pirati | Pirates |
| Il problema | I problem | Problems |
| Il Sistema | I sistemi | Systems |
NOUNS IN -CIA & -GIA
Nouns in -cia and -gia are feminine.
When these endings have the atonal i (i.e. not accented), two cases are distinguished:
✅ if c or g are preceded by a vowel, then the plural is formed with the endings –cie and –gie;
✅ otherwise, if c or g are preceded by a consonant, the plural is formed with the endings –ce and –ge.
| la camicia | le camicie | shirts |
| la valigia | le valigie | suitcases |
| la roccia | le rocce | rocks |
| la spiaggia | le spiagge | beaches |
NOUNS IN -CO, -GO & -IO
In addition to the plural of nouns ending in -cia and -gia, it is good to keep in mind other plurals that are a bit naughty:
➡️ nouns ending in -co can form the plural in -ci or in -chi. Usually the plural is in -chi if they are flat words (banco – banco) and in -ci if they are slurred (farmaco – farmaci), but unfortunately exceptions abound (amico for example becomes amici and not amichi, just as valico becomes valichi and not valici);
| Banco | Banchi | Desk |
| Farmaco | Farmaci | Medication |
| Amico | Amici | Friends (m) |
➡️ nouns ending in -logo and -fago in the plural can come out in -gi or in -ghi. There is, however, a little rule to help you understand how to do this: if they are nouns of persons the plural is in -gi, if they are nouns of things the plural is in -ghi (dialogue – dialogues);
| Psicologo | Psicologi | Psychologist |
| Dialogo | Dialoghi | Dialogue |
➡️ nouns ending in -io form the plural in -i, as the little rule you have already studied says. All simple so far, but does it take one I or two Is? If the I is accented, then two Is are needed in the plural, but if it is not accented, only one is needed.
| Zio | Zii | Uncle |
| guaio | Guai | Trouble |
GENDER CHANGING NOUNS
Some nouns change gender in the plural.
For example:
| Il paio | Le paia | Pairs |
| L’uovo | Le uova | Eggs |
| L’eco (femminile) | Gli echi | Echoes |
| il labbro | Le labbra | Lips |
| Il ginocchio | Le ginocchia | Knees |
IRREGULAR PLURALS
Below is a list of nouns that have an irregular plural:
| L’uomo | Gli uomini | Men |
| Il dio | Gli dei | Gods |
| Il tempio | I templi | Temples |
| Il bue | I buoi | Oxes |
INVARIABLE NOUNS
Invariable nouns have a single form for both singular and plural.
The number can be recognised through other parts of speech such as the article, adjectives and verbs.
Nouns ending in an accented vowel
• la città, le città; [city]
• il caffè, i caffè [coffee]
Monosyllabic nouns
• il re, i re; [king]
• lo sci, gli sci [ski]
Unadapted foreign words
• il computer, i computer; [computer]
• il film, i film [movie]
Some masculine nouns in -a
• il cinema, i cinema; [cinema]
• il boia, i boia; [executioners]
• il gorilla, i gorilla; [gorilla]
Feminine nouns in -i
• la crisi, le crisi; [crisis]
• l’oasi, le oasi; [oasis]
• la tesi, le tesi [thesis]
Feminine nouns in -ie
• la specie, le specie; [species]
• la serie, le serie [series]
Female nouns in -o
These nouns are often shortened nouns.
For example:
• l’auto, le auto; [car]
• la bici, le bici; [bicycle]
• la foto, le foto; [photo]
• la radio, le radio [radio]
Nouns with two plurals
Some masculine nouns that end in -o in the singular have two plural forms, one masculine in -i and one feminine in -a.
The two plurals have different meanings.
For example:
• il braccio i bracci (di un fiume) [the arms (of a river)] / le braccia (di una persona) [the arms (of a person)
• il membro i membri (di una famiglia) [the members (of a family)] / le membra (del corpo umano) [the limbs (of the human body)]
• il corno i corni (strumento musicale) the horns (musical instrument) / le corna (di un animale) [the horns (of an animal)]
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FAQs
How do I change masculine singular nouns to plural in Italian?
Most masculine nouns ending in -o change to -i in the plural (e.g., libro becomes libri), and those ending in -e also change to -i (e.g., fiore becomes fiori).
How do I change feminine singular nouns to plural in Italian?
Most feminine nouns ending in -a change to -e in the plural (e.g., casa becomes case), while those ending in -e change to -i (e.g., notte becomes notti).
Are there any Italian nouns that don’t change in the plural form?
Yes, some nouns, especially those ending in -i, -ù, -ì, and foreign nouns, don’t change in the plural (e.g., film stays film; città remains città).
Do irregular nouns follow different pluralization rules?
Some irregular nouns have unique plural forms or don’t follow typical patterns, like uomo (man) becoming uomini and braccio (arm) becoming braccia in the plural.
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