1. How to use Definite Articles in Italiano.

2. What is a Definite Article?
~A Definite Article is the “the” before a noun.
~ Every noun has a specific definite article.
~Definite articles are decided by the gender and number of the noun.
~Every noun has a gender, masculine and feminine. The best way to decide the gender of a noun is by the last letter or the definite article.
o & i = masculine
a & e = feminine.

3. List of Definite Articles
Singular Plural
Masculine
il - i
lo - gli
l’ - gli
Feminine
la - le
l’ - le

4. When do you use each? Masculine Definite Articles (in the singular)
il – used with masculine nouns beginning with a consonant.
ex – il ragazzo, il professore
lo – used with nouns beginning with z, s plus a consonant, ps, or gn.
ex – lo studente, lo zero, lo psicologo
l’ – is used with nouns, masculine or feminine, beginning with a vowel.
ex – l’amico, l’orologio, l’amica, l’università

5. Making Masculine Articles Plural
When the noun becomes plural, the article must change as well.
il becomes i
ex. i ragazzi, I professori
lo becomes gli
ex. gli studenti, gli zeri
l’ (in the masculine) becomes gli
ex. gli amici, gli orologi

6. When do you use each? Feminine Definite Articles (in the singular)
la – used with the singular feminine nouns
ex. La ragazza
la scuola
la casa
l’ – used for both masculine and feminine for any noun starting with a vowel.
ex – l’amica, l’isola

7. Making Feminine Articles Plural
When making feminine articles plural, it is very simple.
Both la and l’ become le when they are pluralized.
la becomes le
ex. Le ragazze, le scuole
l’ becomes le
ex. Le amiche, le isole

8. Adesso, è toca voi! Write in the definite article of each word.
____ orologio _____ bandiera
____ studenti _____ professoressa
____ cestino _____ bacheca
____ professore _____ amica
____ ragazzo _____ quaderni
____ banco _____ Signorina
____ libro _____ pianta

9. Gender of Nouns What is a noun? ~ a person, place or thing
In Italiano, nouns are either Masculine or Feminine
Masculine
~in the singular ends in “o” and becomes an “i” when it is pluralized.
Feminine
~in the singular, usually ends in “a” and becomes an “e” when pluralized.
*When a noun ends in an “e” in the singular it can be either masculine or feminine, and you need to memorize which ones are which.

10. Esempi dei nomi Examples of Nouns:
il ragazzo = the boy ~ i ragazzi = _________
la ragazza = the girl ~ le ragazze = _______
il libro = the book ~ i libri = ____________
la lavagna = the blackboard
~ le lavagne = _______