Articles, gender & number
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Flip to reveal answersil / lo / l' — when?
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All 14 Flashcards — Articles, gender & number
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Question
il / lo / l' — when?
Answer
il + most consonants (il libro) · lo + s+cons, z, gn, ps, x, y (lo studente, lo zio) · l' + vowel (l'amico).
Question
Plural of il / lo / l' (masculine)?
Answer
il → i (i libri) · lo → gli (gli studenti) · l' → gli (gli amici).
Question
la / l' / le (feminine)?
Answer
la + consonant (la casa) · l' + vowel (l'amica) · plural le (le case, le amiche).
Question
un / uno (masculine indefinite)?
Answer
un + most words (un libro, un amico) · uno + s+cons or z (uno studente, uno zio).
Question
una / un' (feminine indefinite)?
Answer
una + consonant (una casa) · un' (with apostrophe) + vowel (un'amica, un'aranciata).
Question
How do you tell a noun's gender?
Answer
-o usually masculine (il libro), -a usually feminine (la casa), -e can be either (il fiore, la chiave).
Question
Make the plural: libro, casa, fiore
Answer
libro → libri (-o→-i), casa → case (-a→-e), fiore → fiori (-e→-i).
Question
Article before «studente»?
Answer
lo studente (sg.) · gli studenti (pl.) — s+consonant takes lo/gli.
Question
Article before «amica»?
Answer
l'amica (definite) · un'amica (indefinite) — feminine + vowel elides.
Question
Article before «zaino»?
Answer
lo zaino (sg.) · gli zaini (pl.) · uno zaino (indefinite) — z takes lo/gli/uno.
Question
Which sounds trigger lo/gli/uno?
Answer
s+consonant, z, gn, ps, x and y: lo studente, lo zio, lo gnomo, lo psicologo.
Question
«il problema» or «la problema»?
Answer
il problema — many nouns in -ma are masculine (il problema, il programma, il tema); plural i problemi.
Question
«un amico» or «un'amico»?
Answer
un amico — masculine takes «un» (no apostrophe) before a vowel; «un'» is feminine only (un'amica).
Question
Does Italian use 'the' more than English?
Answer
Yes — with general nouns (mi piace la musica), languages (l'italiano) and countries (l'Italia).
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Full study notes for Articles, gender & number
Topic 3.4 hub
Articles, nouns & agreement
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Italian B exam skills
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