Gli articoli indeterminativi e i sostantivi singolari
Indefinite articles and singular nouns
These articles correspond to the English a/an. They are un, uno, una and un’.
Nouns name a person, an object, an idea, an animal or a place. Every noun is either masculine or feminine. Generally speaking:
-
- Nouns ending in –o are masculine.
- Nouns ending in –a are feminine.
- Nouns ending in –e can be masculine or feminine.
| masculine singular | feminine singular |
| un + all consonants: un panino | una + all consonants: una bottiglia |
| + all vowels: un aperitivo | un’ + all vowels: un’aranciata |
| uno + s + consonant: uno studente |
|
| + z / ps / gn: uno zaino / uno psicologo / uno gnocco |
un cappuccino
How can you tell which words ending in –e are masculine or feminine? You can’t just by looking at them. It is simply a matter of memorization. However, here are two hints you can use to distinguish some of these words:
- Nouns ending in –ione are always feminine, i.e. una nazione; una stazione.
- Nouns ending in –ore are always masculine, i.e. un dottore; un signore.
Exceptions:
- Foreign nouns are almost always masculine, i.e. un bar, un toast.
- Most nouns ending in –ma are masculine, i.e. un problema; un sistema; un panorama; un programma.
- Nouns ending in –ista are both masculine and feminine, i.e. un/una barista; un/una turista.
