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Italian Articles

What are the articles in Italian?

By: Debora Chellini Fri Aug 30 2024
Italian
Articles

What are the articles in Italian?

  • Definite articles (“the” in English) → il, l',la, lo, i, le, and gli

  • Indefinite articles (“a” and “an” in English) → un, uno, un’, and una

  • Partitive articles (“some” or “any” in English) → del, dello, dell’, della, dei, degli, delle

As you can see, unlike the English ones, articles in Italian have many different forms. The form you use will depend on the gender and number of the noun, as well as on the noun’s first letter.

In this post, we’ll introduce you to the forms of the different Italian articles and discuss when to use each form. We’ll also direct you to some resources you can use to learn about when and why you’ll use different articles in Italian. Read on to learn more!

What are the Italian definite articles?

The definite articles in Italian are il, l’, lo, i,gli , la, and le. These all translate to “the” in English.

Tip

Definite articles are used a little differently in Italian vs. English. Check out our post on how to use Italian definite and indefinite articles to learn more!

Italian uses a different form for the definite article depending on whether the noun that follows it is masculine or feminine, singular and plural.

  • la casa → le case

    the house (f.) → the houses (f.)

  • il banco → i banchi

    the desk (m.) → the desks (m.)

But the form of the article is also affected by the first letter(s) of the word that come immediately after it. This word is often the noun itself, but can also be a modifier that precedes the noun. Look at the difference here:

  • l’amico(the friend)

  • il migliore amico(the best friend)

Let’s look first at the masculine definite articles, then the feminine ones.

Masculine definite articles in Italian

The masculine definite articles in Italian are il, l’, lo, i, and gli. Here are the rules for when you should use each one:

Singular Article
Plural Article
First letter(s) of the following word
Example

il

i

before a consonant

(except those that use lo/gli below)

il treno → i treni

the train → the trains

l’

gli

before a vowel

l’amico → gli amici

the friend → the friends

before h

l’hotel → gli hotel

the hotel → the hotels

lo

gli

before s + consonant

lo studente → gli studenti

the student → the students

before z

lo zero → gli zeri

the zero → the zeros

before gn

lo gnomo → gli gnomi

the gnome → the gnomes

before ps

lo psicologo → gli psicologi

the psychologist → the psychologists

before y

lo yogurt → gli yogurt

the yogurt → the yogurts

before x

lo xilofono → gli xilofoni

the xylophone → the xylophones

before pn

lo pneumatico → gli pneumatici

the tire → the tires

before i + vowel

lo iato → gli iati

the hiatus → the hiatuses

Exception!

The singular masculine noun il dio(the god) takes gli in the plural, even though it starts with “d.”

  • gli dei (the gods)

  • dei

Why? The word dei comes from the old Italian word iddei. Because iddei was a plural masculine noun beginning with a vowel, it took the plural masculine definite article gli. When the old Italian word iddei changed into standard Italian dei, it maintained the old articles gli/degli!

Tip

Some of the groups above that take lo/gli are quite small. Check out our table of Italian nouns with articles to see just how small the number of nouns that take lo/gli actually is!

Feminine definite articles in Italian

The feminine definite articles in Italian are: la, l’, and le. Here’s when to use each one:

Singular Article
Plural Article
First letter(s) of the following word
Example

la

le

before a consonant

la borsa → le borse

the bag → the bags

before i + vowel

la iena → le iene

the hyena → the hyenas

l’

le

before a vowel

l’ora → le ore

the hour → the hours

Tip

Did you notice that, when singular words of either gender start with a vowel or h: lo and la drop their vowel and are written with an apostrophe? For example,

  • l’aria(the air) la aria

  • l’olio (the olive oil) il/lo olio

  • l’hotel (the hotel) il/lo hotel

Why is this? It’s simply to facilitate pronunciation and avoid having two vowel sounds together! In fact when you use an apostrophe the two words are linked together and are pronounced as a single word.

Proof of the musicality of Italian!

What are the Italian indefinite articles?

The indefinite articles in Italian are un, uno, una, un’. All of these roughly translate to “a/an” in English.

Tip

Indefinite articles are used a little differently in Italian vs. English. Have a look at our post on how to use Italian definite and indefinite articles to learn more.

Indefinite articles are only used with singular nouns, but as we saw with definite articles above, the form you use will depend on the gender of the noun and on the first letter(s) of the following word.

Let’s start with masculine indefinite articles, and then turn to the feminine ones.

Masculine indefinite articles in Italian

The masculine indefinite articles in Italian are un and uno. Here’s when to use each one.

Article
First letter(s) of the following word
Example

un

before a consonant

un telefono

a telephone

before a vowel

un orologio

a watch

before h

un hotel

a hotel

uno

before s + consonant

uno studente

a student

before z

uno zaino

a backpack

before gn

uno gnomo

a gnome

before ps

uno psichiatra

a psychiatrist

before y

uno yeti

a yeti

before x

uno xilofono

a xylophone

before pn

uno pneumologo

a pulmonologist

before i + vowel

uno iettatore

a jinx

Tip

Notice that there is no apostrophe between un and a vowel or un and an h! They are separate words!

Feminine indefinite articles in Italian

The feminine indefinite articles in Italian are una and un’. Here’s when to use each one:

Article
First letter(s) of the following word
Example

una

before a consonant

una ragazza

a girl

before i + vowel

una iena

a hyena

un’

before a vowel

un’amaca

a hammock

Tip

Notice the difference in masculine and feminine before vowels! We say un amico(a friend (m.)) with two words but un’amica(a friend (f.)) as one word!

What are the Italian partitive articles?

The Italian partitive articles are del, dello, dell’, della, dell’, dei, degli, and delle. These all translate to “some/any” and they are a combination of the preposition di(of) with a definite article (il, lo, l’, la, and i, gli, le(the)).

When should you use them?

  • Before a singular noun, they tell your listener that you’re talking about part of a whole food or substance. Use the singular to translate phrases like: “some cake” or “some water.”

  • Before a plural noun, they tell your listener that you’re talking about an undetermined quantity of something, and can be used as plural indefinite articles. Use the plural to translate phrases like “some pens”

Tip

You can learn a lot more about when to use partitive articles from our post on how to use Italian partitive articles!

The form of the partitive article will depend on which definite article you would use with a given noun, so you’ll need to look at the gender and number of the noun, as well as the first letter(s) of the word that immediately follows the article.

Let’s look at the singular partitive articles first, and then the plural ones.

Singular partitive articles in Italian

The singular partitive articles in Italian are del, dell’, dello, and della. The form you use will depend entirely on the form of the definite article that ought to precede a given singular noun.

di + ildel

il succo → del succo

the juice → some juice

di + lodello

lo yogurt → dello yogurt

the yogurt → some yogurt

di + l’ → dell

l’agilo → dell’agilo

the garlic → some garlic

di + ladella

la yucca → della yucca

the yucca → some yucca

For the full rules, check out the table below!

Plural partitive articles in Italian

The plural partitive articles in Italian are dei, degli, and delle. The form you use will depend entirely on the form of the definite article that ought to precede a given plural noun.

di+idei

i pianeti → dei pianeti

the planet → some plane

di+ledelle

le amiche → delle amiche

the friends → some friends

di+glidegli

gli gnocchi → degli gnocchi

the dumplings → some dumplings

Tip

Remember how dei(gods) took gli as its plural definite article, even though it starts with “d?” It also takes gli as its partitive article, because the partitive article is just de + the definite article!

  • degli dei (some gods)

  • dei dei

For the full rules, have a look at the table in the next section.

More examples of partitive articles in Italian

The tables below show more examples of partitive articles, along with the full rules for choosing the partitive article to use before different masculine and feminine nouns in Italian.

Masculine partitive articles in Italian
Singular Partitive Article
Plural Partitive Article
First letter(s) of the following word
Examples

del

di + il/i

dei

di + i

before (most) consonants

del succo

some juice

dei pianeti

some planets

dell’

di + l’

degli

di + gli

before (most) vowels

dell’aglio

some garlic

degli orologi

some watches

dello(di + lo)

di + lo

degli

di + gli

before s + consonant

dello speck

some smoked ham

degli scolari

some pupils

before z

dello zinco

some zinc

degli zeri

some zeros

before gn

dello gnocco

some dumpling

degli gnocchi

some dumplings

before y

dello yogurt

some yogurt

degli yacht

some yachts

before x

dello xilema

some xylem

degli xilofoni

some xylophones

before i + vowel

dello iodio

some iodine

degli ioni

some ions

Feminine partitive articles in Italian
Singular Partitive Article
Plural Partitive Article
First letter(s) of the following word
Examples

della

di + la

delle

di + le

before (most) consonants

della yucca

some yucca

delle borse

some bags

before i + vowel

della iuta

some jute

delle iene

some hyenas

dell’

di + l’

degli

di + le

before a vowel

dell’arancia

some orange

delle amiche

some friends

Summary

In conclusion, for each type of article, definite, indefinite, and partitive, let’s keep in mind that there are three questions you need to ask yourself to help you decide which article to use in Italian:

  • Is the noun they precede masculine or feminine?

  • Is it singular or plural?

  • Does the word they precede begin with a consonant, a vowel, an h, with s + another consonant, z, gn, pn, ps, x, y, or i + vowel?

Now it is time to practice with our exercises! Proviamo!(Let’s try!)

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