Nouns and the definite articles Noun = Person, Place, Thing Definite Article = way to say “the” before a noun *In a foreign language, nouns have a gender (masculine or feminine) based on the last letter they end in and their definite articles must agree with the noun in number and gender

There are 7 ways to say “The”  Il  Lo  La  L’  I  Gli  Le The =

Masculine singular nouns: usually end in “- o” usually end in “- o” used with definite article “il” (“the”) used with definite article “il” (“the”) usually end in “- o” usually end in “- o” used with definite article “il” (“the”) used with definite article “il” (“the”) Il libroIl bancoIl quaderno beginning with a “-z” or “s + consonant” beginning with a “-z” or “s + consonant” used with definite article “lo” (“the”) used with definite article “lo” (“the”) beginning with a “-z” or “s + consonant” beginning with a “-z” or “s + consonant” used with definite article “lo” (“the”) used with definite article “lo” (“the”) Lo zainoLo scotchLo studenteLo zoo

Masculine/feminine singular nouns: that begin with a vowel that begin with a vowel used with definite article “l’ ” (“the”) used with definite article “l’ ” (“the”) that begin with a vowel that begin with a vowel used with definite article “l’ ” (“the”) used with definite article “l’ ” (“the”) La matitaLa sediaLa studentessa usually end in “-a” usually end in “-a” used with definite article “la” (“the”) used with definite article “la” (“the”) usually end in “-a” usually end in “-a” used with definite article “la” (“the”) used with definite article “la” (“the”) L’ aulaL’orologioL’alboL’alunna Feminine singular nouns:

Exceptions to the rule…: The gender of some words must be learned because they don’t follow the patterns for masculine or feminine; they end in “-e” and can be either gender: The gender of some words must be learned because they don’t follow the patterns for masculine or feminine; they end in “-e” and can be either gender: Masculine: Io studente il professore il temperamatite Feminine: La classe La spillatrice La calcolatrice #1#1

Gender Reminders  If a noun ends in:  Libro- M  Lavagna-F  Classe-F  Studente-M oMasculine aFeminine eEither

What to use with Singular nouns: ArticleUsesExample IlSingular Masculine nouns Il libro Il quaderno LoSingular Masculine Starting with s + consonant or z Lo zaino Lo studente LaSingular Feminine nouns La lavagna La casa L’Singular masculine/femine nouns starting with a vowel L’orologio L’aula

Plural Nouns and articles: Masculine nouns ending with “o” change their ending to “i” in the plural il libro i libri Lo zaino - gli zaini L’albo - gli albi#1#1 Article before masculine plural nouns: (il i) Articles before masculine plural nouns beginning with a vowel, “z” or “s + consonant” (lo, l’ gli)

Plural Nouns and articles: Feminine nouns ending with “a” change their ending to “e” in the plural La matita le matite L’aula – le aule L’alunna – le alunne#1#1 Articles before all feminine plural nouns: (la, l’ le)

Plural Nouns and articles: Masculine or Feminine nouns ending with “e” change their ending to “i” in the plural La classe le classi Lo studente – gli studenti il professore – i professori#1#1

What to use with Plural nouns: ArticleUsesExample IPlural Masculine nouns I libri I quaderni GliSingular Masculine Starting with s or z or vowel Gli zaini Gli studenti Gli orologi LePlural Feminine NounsLe lavagne Le case Le aule

Number Reminders  Making things plural O goes to ILibro- libri A goes to eLavagna-lavagne E goes to IStudente-studenti Classe-classi

Practice: what would you use in front of:  ________matita  ________quaderno  ________zaino  ________penna  ________aereo  ________classe  ________bambino  La matita  Il quaderno  Lo zaino  La penna  L’aereoplano  La classe  Il bambino

What would you use in front of these:  _____matite  _____alunne  _____alunni  _____cestini  _____studenti  _____zaini  _____penne  _____quaderni  Le matite  Le alunne  Gli alunni  I cestini  Gli studenti  Gli zaini  Le penne  I quaderni