1. Maschile o femminile (Gender: masculine or feminine)
In Italian nouns have gender: they are either masculine or feminine.
Most nouns ending in –o are masculine.
Most nouns ending in –a are feminine.
Nouns ending in –e are either masculine or feminine.
Nouns ending in –ione, like televisione are feminine.
Nouns ending in a consonant, like sport, are usually masculine.
bambina
bambino

2. Articolo indeterminativo (indefinite article) one or a/an= un; uno; un’; una
In Italian the indefinite article a/an has different forms according to the gender and the first letter of the noun that follow.
Masculine nouns
We use uno if the noun is masculine and if the first letter is s + consonant or z like:
uno studente (a student)
uno zaino (a backpack)
We use un if the noun is masculine and if the first letter is a consonant or a vowel:
un albero (a tree)
un libro (a book)
uno studente uno zaino
Un albero un libro

3. Articolo indeterminativo (indefinite article) one or a/an= un; uno; un’; una
Feminine nouns
We use una if the noun is feminine and if the first letter is a consonant like:
una studentessa
(a female student)
We use un’ if the noun is feminine and if the first letter is a vowel:
un’ amica (a girlfriend)

4. Singolare e plurale (Number: singular and plural)
In Italian masculine nouns that end in –o in the singular, end in –i in the plural:
ragazzo ragazzi
Feminine nouns that end in –a in the singular form, end in –e in the plural:
studentessa studentesse
Masculine and feminine nouns that end in –e in the singular form, end in –i in the plural:
cane (m.) cani
classe (f.) classi
ragazzo ragazzi
studentessa studentesse
cane cani
classe classi

5. Articolo determinativo (Definite article) The: il; l’; lo; i; gli;
The masculine singular definite article has 3 forms:
We use l’ before nouns that begin with a vowel
we use lo before nouns that begin with s + consonant or z and
we use il before all other consonant.
The masculine plural definite article has 2 forms:
We use gli before nouns that begin with a vowel, s + consonant, or z and
we use i before all other consonants.
singular
plural
Masculine
il libro
l’ orologio
lo studente
lo zaino
i libri
gli orologi
gli studenti
gli zaini

6. Articolo determinativo (Definite article) The: la; l’; le
The feminine singular definite article has 2 forms:
We use l’ before nouns that begin with a vowel
we use la before all other consonant.
The femenine plural definite article has 1 form:
We use le before all nouns.
singular
plural
Feminine
la penna
l’arancia
le penne
le arance