The articles
Articles are divided into definite and indefinite.
Definite Articles
The definite articles are:
il, lo, la; with nouns in the singular
i, gli, le; with nouns in the plural
and indicate people, animals and specific things.
For example:
Ho comprato il quaderno nuovo.
Ho comprato i quaderni nuovi.
Indefinite Articles
The indefinite articles are:
un, uno, una
and indicate people, animals and not well-defined things.
These articles have only the singular form and not the plural one; therefore when faced with plural nouns we must use partitive articles, which are:
del, dello, della, dei, degli, delle
which have the same meaning as alcuni, alcune, un po’ di.
For example:
Ho comprato un quaderno nuovo.
Ho comprato dei quaderni nuovi.
ATTENTION!
The articles la and una become l’ and un’ in front of feminine singular nouns that begin with a vowel. For example:
l’acqua, un’amica
the same applies to lo, which becomes l’ in front of masculine singular nouns that begin with a vowel. While it does not undergo the same change as uno, which in the same situation loses the final –o but does not take any apostrophe in its place. For example:
l’albergo, un amico
Test yourself with this exercise on definite and indefinite articles.
See also:
Italian Trailers Exercises: Lo Hobbit Definite and Indefinite Articles
Italian Trailers Exercises: Diverso da chi? Definite and Indefinite Articles
Italian Indefinite Articles Video Exercise Italian song: Jovanotti, Baciami ancora
