Italian Grammar Bank
ITALIAN NOUNS
In Italian, each noun can be masculine or feminine and singular or plural.
In this case, nouns can be variable in gender or number.
Nouns also combine and agree with other parts of the sentence, such as articles or adjectives.
MEANING OF NOUNS
Analysing what the various nouns mean is a first step towards dividing them into categories. In fact, based on their meaning alone, we can divide nouns into six classes:
COMMON NOUNS
They indicate something or someone in a generic way, as an element of a category or class, for example:
–
uomo
, man
–
pinguino
, penguin
–
pianta
, plant
When we use common names, we are in short referring to an element in general of a given category, unless more specific and detailed details or characteristics are added.
There is a big difference, for example, between un uomo , a man and l’uomo che ho incontrato ieri alla stazione , the man I met yesterday at the station.
PROPER NOUNS
They indicate something or someone in a particular and specific way, thus differentiating it precisely from the category to which it belongs (as in the case of the difference between “Paolo” and “un uomo”).
Unlike common nouns, proper nouns have capitalized initials.
Proper nouns include person names and surnames, geographical names (cities, rivers, famous places, seas, mountains, etc.), titles of artistic-literary works (il Decamerone, I promessi sposi, La divina commedia), names of political, social, cultural institutions, etc.
CONCRETE NOUNS
They indicate real things or beings, i.e. perceptible through our five senses.
For example:
–
cane
, dog
–
gatto
, cat
–
profumo
, perfume
ABSTRACT NOUNS
They indicate ideas or concepts, i.e. things or concepts depicted by our intellect but not perceptible through our senses.
For example:
–
amore
], love
–
tristezza, sadness
– [speak ira
, anger
INDIVIDUAL NOUNS
They indicate something (person, animal, object) understood individually.
Individual nouns are the vast majority of nouns.
For example:
–
ragazza
, girl
–
bicicletta
, bicycle
–
ape
, bee
COLLECTIVE NOUNS
They indicate a collection of human beings, animals or things that are collectively understood as a single unit.
For example:
–
il pubblico
, a collection of different people
–
una mandria
, a collection of farm animals
–
la roba
, a collection of objects
Please note: collective nouns normally have singular and plural, like all other nouns.
FORM OF NOUNS
Nouns can also be classified by their form, which differs according to the function the noun has to fulfil in the sentence we want to create (and thus, according to what we want to say and communicate).
For instance, in the series: ragazzo, ragazza, ragazzi, ragazze it is evident that it is not only the form of the noun that changes, but also what I am referring to.
Within each name we can then distinguish between:
– the root, i.e. that part of the noun which remains unchanged and which conveys the fundamental meaning of the noun (in the example: ragazz-);
– the desinence, i.e. the final part of the noun, which carries with it the basic grammatical information (in the example: ragazz-o, indicating that we are talking about a young man).
Names, as far as their form is concerned, differ in gender and number.
GENDER: MALE AND FEMALE
By gender we mean the distinction into masculine or feminine.
If the name refers to animate beings, the gender is the natural, as in the examples: ragazzo, ragazza; gatto, gatta; padre, madre).
If, on the other hand, the noun refers to names of abstract objects or concepts, generally referred to as ‘thing nouns’, they have a conventional gender, such as il libro (masculine), la stazione (feminine), la rabbia (femm.), il quaderno (masc.).
As far as gender desinences are concerned:
– for the masculine we generally use -o, and -e; if we indicate a craft it is frequent -tore. For example: uomo, cocchiere, gladiatore (man, coachman, gladiator).
– for the feminine we generally use -a, and -ina; if we indicate a craft it is frequent -trice and -essa. Or: donna, eroina, attrice, contessa (woman, heroine, actress, countess).
PLEASE NOTE
Unfortunately, there isn’t a fixed rule for recognising male names.
Almost all nouns ending in -o or consonant are masculine [nonno, lupo, bar (grandfather, wolf, bar)], but there are also masculine nouns ending in -e [vigile, leone, mese (policeman, lion, month)] and even those ending in -a [pigiama, panda, tema (pajamas, panda, theme)].
We just have to resort to the article that will always tell us when a noun is masculine.
Also for feminine nouns, unfortunately, there is not always a valid rule.
Many end in -a [mamma, pecora, musica (mother, sheep, music)], but there are also feminine names that end in -e [moglie, rete, nave (wife, net, ship)] and in -o [eco, mano, biro (echo, hand, pen)].
Here again, the best thing to do is to rely on the article, which always reveals the gender of the name: there are in fact also names that have only one invariable form for masculine and feminine and leave it to the article to determine whether we are talking about a male or a female (il giornalista – la giornalista, il cantante – la cantante, il collega – la collega).
NUMBERS: SINGULAR OR PLURAL
In addition to gender, nouns also have a number, which is singular when it indicates one person, one animal, one thing, and plural when it indicates several persons, things, animals or abstract entities.
For example: la mamma, le mamme; la sedia, le sedie (chair); il mondo, i mondi (world); la virtù, le virtù (virtue). As far as number is concerned, we can also have here a variation of the ending:
– for nouns ending in -a in the singular we generally use -i if they are masculine (artista artisti), and -e if they are feminine (casa case).
– for nouns ending in -e at the singular we generally use -i for both masculine and feminine (nipote nipoti).
– for nouns ending in -o at the singular we generally use for both masculine and feminine -i (libro libri; mano mani).
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FAQs
What are the gender rules for Italian nouns?
Italian nouns have either masculine or feminine gender. Generally, nouns ending in -o are masculine (e.g., “libro” – book), and nouns ending in -a are feminine (e.g., “casa” – house). However, there are exceptions, like “mano” (hand), which is feminine.
How do Italian nouns form the plural?
Most masculine nouns change the ending from -o to -i in the plural (e.g., “libro” becomes “libri”), while most feminine nouns change -a to -e (e.g., “casa” becomes “case”). Nouns ending in -e (regardless of gender) usually change to -i (e.g., “classe” becomes “classi”).
Are there any irregular nouns in Italian?
Yes, some Italian nouns have irregular plural forms, such as “uomo” (man), which becomes “uomini” (men), and “braccio” (arm), which becomes “braccia” (arms). These irregular forms need to be memorized.
What is the difference between countable and uncountable nouns in Italian?
Countable nouns (like “gatto” – cat) can be singular or plural, while uncountable nouns (like “acqua” – water) usually remain singular and don’t have a plural form.
However, the context might allow some uncountable nouns to be treated as countable, such as “un’acqua” (a bottle of water).
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