Italian nouns
The ending of Italian nouns depends on whether they are masculine or feminine and whether they are singular or plural.
Nouns which end in -O, for example LIBRO, are generally masculine and in the plural form end in -I (LIBRI).
Nouns which end in -A, for example CASA, are generally feminine and in the plural form end in -E (CASE).
There are also nouns which end in -E, for example RISTORANTE, and in the plural form end in -I (RISTORANTI). In this case the nouns can be masculine or feminine; therefore, to know what their gender is, you need to check the dictionary or memorize them together with their article.
Singolare (Singular) | Plurale (Plural) | |
Maschile (Masculine)
Femminile (Feminine) Noun ending in -e |
Gatt-o
Parol-a Fior-e |
Gatt-i
Parol-e Fior-i |
There are some exceptions:
- Nouns which end in -tà e -tù are feminine and don’t change in the plural form
la città / le città, la virtù / le virtù
- Some feminine nouns end in -o and often don’t change in the plural form
la radio / le radio, la foto / le foto
- Feminine nouns which end in -i don’t change in the plural form
la crisi / le crisi, l’ipotesi / le ipotesi, l’analisi / le analisi
- Masculine nouns which end in -a generally have a plural form which ends in -i
il problema / i problemi, il panorama / i panorami, il tema / i temi
- The plural form of “uomo” is “uomini”.
- The plural form of “uovo” is “uova” (masculine in the singular form and feminine in the plural).
- The plural of the feminine noun “mano” is “mani”.
See also:
Plural of Italian Nouns Video Exercise – Ligabue
Italian Nouns Video Exercise – Laura Pausini
Italian Feminine Nouns Video Exercise – Eros Ramazzotti
Exercise – Trailer in italian: Feminine Nouns
Exercise – Trailer in italian: Nouns