The adjective copies the noun: Noun–adjective agreement (l'accordo di nome e aggettivo) is a core rule of Italian: an adjective changes its ending to match its noun in gender (masculine / feminine) and number (singular / plural). So a red book is un libro ross*o, but a red car is una macchina rossa*, *red books* are libri rossi, and *red cars* are macchine rosse**. The noun leads; the adjective follows its lead.
- il nome / il sostantivo
- the noun (libro, macchina)
- l'aggettivo
- the adjective — the describing word (rosso, grande)
- il genere
- gender — maschile (masculine) or femminile (feminine)
- il numero
- number — singolare (singular) or plurale (plural)
- l'accordo / la concordanza
- agreement — matching the adjective's ending to its noun
- la desinenza
- the ending — the final vowel that changes (-o, -a, -i, -e)
Why it carries the marks: Agreement errors are the most common slip at SL and examiners spot «una libro» or «macchine rosso» immediately. Every reading text, listening clip and written answer is full of noun + adjective pairs, so getting the endings to match is core Criterion A (Language) accuracy. Master one rule and it applies to hundreds of adjectives.
Two families of adjectives: Most Italian adjectives fall into two groups. Group 1 (four endings) ends in -o and has -o / -a / -i / -e (rosso, rossa, rossi, rosse). Group 2 (two endings) ends in -e and has just -e (singular) / -i (plural) for both genders (verde → verdi, grande → grandi). To pluralise: -o → -i, -a → -e, and -e → -i.
| Masc. sing. | Fem. sing. | Masc. plur. | Fem. plur. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group 1: rosso (red) | rosso | rossa | rossi | rosse |
| Group 1: italiano | italiano | italiana | italiani | italiane |
| Group 2: verde (green) | verde | verde | verdi | verdi |
| Group 2: grande (big) | grande | grande | grandi | grandi |
Group 2 ignores gender: A -e adjective (verde, grande, felice, intelligente) does not show gender: un ragazzo felice / una ragazza felice are both -e. It only changes for number: ragazzi felici / ragazze felici. So «una casa grande» and «un giardino grande» share the same form — you only switch to -i in the plural.
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Position and shared adjectives: In Italian a descriptive adjective usually comes after the noun (una casa nuova, a new house). A small group of common adjectives often comes before it (bello, buono, grande, piccolo, bravo, nuovo: una bella casa). Wherever it sits, the adjective still agrees. And when one adjective describes two nouns of different gender, it goes masculine plural: un ragazzo e una ragazza italiani**.
The agreement rules in use
- After the noun (the default) — «un libro interessante» (an interesting book).
- Before the noun (common short ones) — «una bella giornata» (a lovely day).
- With the verb «essere» — «Le finestre sono grandi» (the windows are big) — the adjective still agrees with the subject.
- Two nouns, same gender — «una gonna e una camicia rosse» (a red skirt and shirt): feminine plural.
- Two nouns, different gender — «un cane e una gatta neri» (a black dog and cat): masculine plural wins.
«bello» and «buono» shorten before the noun: A few pre-noun adjectives change shape like the article: bello → bel libro, bella casa, bei libri, belle case; buono → buon amico, buona idea. This is still agreement — the ending matches the noun — just with a shortened masculine singular form before certain words.
A home described with agreeing adjectives: Here is a short everyday description built one sentence at a time. Watch how every adjective agrees with its noun — feminine (piccol*a*, luminos*a), masculine plural (puliti, moderni), and the -e adjectives that only change for number (gentili, grandi, elegante → eleganti). Read it once for meaning, then tap Mostra traduzione* for the English or 🔊 to hear it.
IB-style task — l'accordo in azione
Una descrizione, frase per frase
- Vivo in una casa piccola ma luminosa, con due finestre grandi.
- La mia camera è comoda: ho una scrivania nuova e delle tende verdi.
- I miei vicini sono gentili e simpatici e hanno un cane bianco molto tranquillo.
- Vicino a casa ci sono due parchi puliti e alcuni negozi moderni.
- Insomma, è una zona tranquilla e piacevole, ideale per una vita serena.
Steal this for your description: Notice how few patterns you need: pick a noun, decide its gender and number, then match the adjective's ending (-o/-a/-i/-e for group 1, -e/-i for group 2). Swap in your own room, town or friends and you have a ready-made paragraph for the oral or a writing task — full of correct agreement.
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The slips to watch for: Three mistakes dominate: leaving the adjective in its dictionary (masculine singular) form («una casa nuovo» instead of nuova), pluralising -a → -i as if it were masculine («ragazze simpatici» instead of simpatiche), and giving a -e adjective a gender it doesn't have («una ragazza intelligenta» — there is no such form; it's intelligente). Compare the right version with the typical mistake and the fix becomes obvious.
Corretto
- una casa nuova e luminosa
- delle ragazze molto simpatiche
- una ragazza intelligente e gentile
Errore frequente
- una casa nuovo e luminoso
- delle ragazze molto simpatici
- una ragazza intelligenta e gentila
Ask: what gender, what number — and which group?: Before you write an adjective, do two quick checks. 1. Find the noun's gender and number (la casa → fem. sing.). 2. Decide the group: a -o adjective takes -o/-a/-i/-e; a -e adjective takes only -e/-i (no gender). Watch the spelling of feminine plurals: -ca/-ga → -che/-ghe (simpatica → simpatiche, larga → larghe).