NOUNS

NOUNS
✓ In Italian, the preposition "the" can be
Rules in Italian noun translated in different ways depending on the
context and the noun it is referring to. The
NOUN= PERSON, PLACE, THING translation of "the" in Italian can be one of the
Ending change depending on: following options:

o the gender=masculine or feminine

o Number=singular or plural MASCULINE FEMININE
✓ The ending of an Italian noun reveals its gender This is used before This is used before
and number. masculine singular masculine singular
nouns. nouns.
How do you know the word masculine or feminine? • Plural-I • Plural-Le
Ex. I ragazzi (The Ex. Le ragazze
✓ Italian nouns can be masculine or feminine, not
boys) (The girls)
neutral even the animals and inanimate objects.

MASCULINE FEMININE • Singular-Il • Singular-La

Ex.Il libro (The Ex.la casa (The
Nouns end with Nouns end with book) house)
• Plural-I • Plural-E
Ex. libri(books) Ex. matite(pencils)
• Singular-O • Singular-A Remember!!!
Ex. libro(book) Ex. matita(pencil) ✓ Choice of article depends on the gender
(masculine or feminine) and number (singular
or plural) of the noun being referred to.
Additionally, the preposition "the" may not
Some masculine nouns end Some feminine nouns end
always be translated directly into Italian. In
with E or TORE with ESSA or TRICE
some cases, it might be omitted or expressed
Ex. Ex. differently depending on the sentence structure
• LO STUDENTE • LA STUDENTESSA and context.
(male student) (female student)

• L’ATTORE (ACTOR) • -L’ATRICCE SUBJECT PRONOUN

(ACTRESS)

SINGULAR PLURAL
1st person io (I) noi (we)

✓ When you pluralize the noun, you must also 2nd person tu (you) voi (you all)
pluralize the article: la becomes le, il becomes
me, and lo becomes gli. 3rd person lui/lei (he/she) loro (they

✓ Sometimes nouns ending with E can be

masculine or feminine.
✓ Rules for Pronouns in Italian:

✓ REMEMBER sometimes words ending with O Subject Pronouns: In Italian, subject pronouns are
can be feminine and A can be masculine generally omitted, as the verb conjugation provides
especially if it’s an abbreviation or short word information about the subject. However, subject
for longer nouns. pronouns can be used for emphasis or clarity. When

THE ARTICLE
used, subject pronouns come before the verb. For
example: "Io mangio" (I eat).
Second Conjugation (Verbs ending in -ere)
Remember!!!
Ex. using the verb "leggere" (to read)
✓ pronouns do not always have a direct one-to-
one translation between languages, and their INFINITIVE PRESENCE TENSE PAST TENSE
usage may vary.
leggere io leggotu leggi io ho letto
tu hai letto
✓ When translating sentences from English to lui/lei legge
lui/lei ha letto
Italian, it's necessary to consider the context
noi leggiamo noi abbiamo letto
and the correct form of the pronoun based on
voi avete letto
the gender and number of the noun it refers to. voi leggete
loro hanno letto
loro leggono
DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS

SINGULAR PLURAL
1st person mi (me) ci (us) Third Conjugation (Verbs ending in -ire)

2nd person Ti (you) vi (you all) Ex.using the verb "dormire" (to sleep):

INFINITIVE PRESENCE TENSE PAST TENSE

3rd person lo (him)/la (her) li (them)/le (them)
dormire io dormo io ho dormito
tu dormi tu hai dormito
✓ Direct object pronouns in Italian replace the lui/lei dorme lui/lei ha dormito
direct object (the noun that receives the action noi dormiamo noi abbiamo dormito
of the verb) to avoid repetition. voi dormite voi avete dormito
loro dormono loro hanno dormito
✓ The placement of direct object pronouns varies
depending on the verb tense and sentence
structure. Remember!!!

✓ Direct object pronouns generally come before
the verb. For example: "Mi piace il libro" (I like
the book).
CONJUGATION
First Conjugation (Verbs ending in -are):
✓ It's important to note that just like in English,
there are also many irregular verbs in Italian
that have unique conjugations and need to be
memorized individually. Additionally, verb
conjugations can vary depending on different
tenses, moods, and grammatical persons.

Ex.using the verb "parlare" (to speak):

ADVERB

INFINITIVE PRESENCE TENSE PAST TENSE ✓ English adverbs are usually formed by adding ‘-
ly’ to an adjective (e.g., ‘thinly’, ‘cleverly’).
parlare io parlo io ho parlato Italian adverbs are usually just as easy to form: -
tu parli tu hai parlato mente is added to the feminine singular form of
lui/lei parla lui/lei ha parlato the adjective:
noi parliamo noi abbiamo parlato • lenta + -mente =lentamente(slowly)
voi parlate voi avete parlato • rapida + -mente = rapidamente (quickly)
loro parlano loro hanno parlato
✓ When the adjective ends in -le or -re preceded
by a vowel, the final e is dropped before adding
ADJECTIVE
-mente:
• gentile + -mente =gentilmente (kindly, • Abbiamo molto tempo. We have a lot of
politely) time.
• utile + -mente =utilmente (usefully)
• Luisa mangia poca pasta. Luisa eats little
pasta/doesn't eat a lot of pasta.
✓ In Italian there are also many adverbs that do
not end in -mente. Here are some: • Ho molti amici. have a lot of
friends.
✓ Note that with non . . . ancora and non . . . mai,
non is always placed before the verb and • 'Perché fai questo?' 'Ci sono molte ragioni.'
ancora/mai after it. Why are you doing this?" "There are many
reasons.
• abbastanza enough/fairly/rather/ quite

• ancora still

• bene well

• davanti at the front/in front

• dentro in(side)

• dietro at the back/behind

✓ Adverbs can qualify verbs, adjectives, or even

other adverbs:

• Dormo bene. [verb + adverb] -I sleep well.

• Dormo molto bene. [adverb + adverb] -I

sleep very well.

• La casa è molto piccola. [adverb +

adjective]-The house is very small.
✓ Some words denoting quantity can be used
both as adverbs and as adjec-tives:
✓ When used as adverbs they are invariable, but
when used as adjectives they agree in gender
and number with the noun they refer to:
• lavorare molto/tanto to work a lot.

• molto/tanto lontano very far

• molto/tanto difficile very difficult

• troppo lontano too far

• troppo difficile too difficult