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In English, you might point someone out by saying "the man with the beard" or "the girl with the blue eyes". In Italian, to describe a person or animal by a distinct physical trait or item of clothing, you use the preposition **da** combined with a definite article.

Depending on the gender and number of the physical feature you are describing, **da** merges with the article to form a single word.

### Singular features: dal and dalla

When the distinguishing feature is a singular noun, combine **da** with the singular definite articles **il** or **la** to form **dal** and **dalla**.

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### Plural features: dai, dalle, and dagli

Very often, the traits we use to describe people are plural—like hair (*i capelli*), ears (*le orecchie*), or even a mustache (which is plural in Italian: *i baffi*). For these, combine **da** with the plural articles **i** or **le** to form **dai** and **dalle**.

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Remember to use **dagli** (from *da* + *gli*) for masculine plural words that start with a vowel, such as eyes (*occhi*) or glasses (*occhiali*).

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### Describing multiple features

If you want to describe someone using more than one characteristic, you must repeat the combined preposition + article before every single trait.

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Describing physical features (dal, dagli)

adjective

adjective/adverb

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (io sono)

Singular definite articles (il, la)

Singular demonstratives (questo, questa)

Basic verbal negation (non)

Yes/No questions

Coordinating conjunctions (e, ma, o)

Regular plurals and definite articles (-i, -e, i, le)

Plural verb to be (noi siamo, voi siete)

Plural demonstratives (questi, queste)

Nouns ending in -e

Special singular articles (lo, l')

The plural article (gli)

Special indefinite articles (uno, un')

Demonstrative adjectives (quello, quella)

Adjective endings (-o, -a, -i, -e)

Expressing quantity (molto, poco, tanto)

The verb to have (ho, hai, ha...)

There is / there are (c'è, ci sono)

The preposition of (di)

Singular possessives (il mio, la mia)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, due, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (undici, dodici...)

Numbers 21 to 100 (trenta, quaranta...)

Idiomatic avere (avere fame, avere anni)

Plural possessive adjectives (i miei, le mie)

Possessives with family members (mio padre)

Formal address (dare del Lei)

Present tense of -are verbs (-o, -i, -a)

Question words (chi, cosa, dove)

Present tense of -ere verbs (-o, -i, -e)

Question words (quando, come, perché)

Question word agreement (quanto, quanta, quanti, quante)

Regular -ire verbs

Verbs with -isc- (capisco, capisci, capisce)

Pronouns after prepositions (me, te, lui)

The verb fare (faccio, fai, fa)

The verb andare (vado, vai, va)

The verb stare (sto, stai, sta)

The verb venire (vengo, vieni, viene)

The verb uscire (esco, esci, esce)

Location and destination (a, in)

Origin and movement (da)

Articulated prepositions with a (al, alla)

Articulated prepositions with in (nel, nella)

Articulated prepositions with di and da (del, dal)

Simple prepositions (con, per, su, tra)

Articulated prepositions with su (sul, sulla)

Months of the year

Telling time (sono le...)

Dates (il + number)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primo, secondo, terzo...)

The verb to want (volere)

The verb can (potere)

The verb must (dovere)

The verb to know (sapere)

Reflexive verbs (mi lavo, ti lavi)

Indirect object pronouns (gli, le, ci...)

Expressing preferences (mi piace)

Plural preferences (mi piacciono)

Comparatives (più... di, meno... di)

The passato prossimo with avere (ho parlato)

Irregular past participles (fatto, letto, preso)

The passato prossimo with essere (sono andato)

Reflexive verbs in the past (mi sono svegliato)

Time adverbs with the past tense (già, mai, ancora)

Third-person direct object pronouns (lo, la, li, le)

First and second-person direct object pronouns (mi, ti, ci, vi)

The four seasons

Prepositions of place (vicino a, davanti a)

Conversational words (beh, allora, davvero)

Indefinite adjectives for some (qualche, alcuni)

Indefinite adjectives for every and all (ogni, tutti)

Indefinite pronouns (qualcosa, qualcuno)

Noun suffixes (-ino, -one)

Adverbs of manner (-mente)

Comparisons of equality (così... come)

The relative superlative (il più)

The absolute superlative (-issimo)

Irregular comparatives (migliore, peggiore)

Present progressive (stare + -ando, -endo)

Imminent actions (stare per)

The locative pronoun (ci)

The partitive pronoun (ne)

Pronoun placement with modal verbs

Impersonal subjects (si)

Prepositions of time (da, per, tra, fra)

Past participle agreement with pronouns

Question	Answer
with (a physical feature)	da
beard	la barba
Who is the man with the gray beard?	Chi è l'uomo dalla barba grigia?
The lady with the red hair is very nice.	La signora dai capelli rossi è molto simpatica.
curly	riccio
I spoke with the girl with the curly hair.	Ho parlato con la ragazza dai capelli ricci.
scar	la cicatrice
Do you see the boy with the scar?	Vedi il ragazzo dalla cicatrice?
Do you know the man with the black beard?	Conosci l'uomo dalla barba nera?
mustache	il baffo
smile	il sorriso
The gentleman with the white mustache has a kind smile.	Il signore dai baffi bianchi ha un sorriso gentile.
The student with the blue eyes has a nice smile.	Lo studente dagli occhi azzurri ha un bel sorriso.
The girl with the braid is my sister.	La ragazza dalla treccia è mia sorella.
Do you remember the girl with the blond hair?	Ricordi la ragazza dai capelli biondi?
Look at that cat with the big ears!	Guarda quel gatto dalle orecchie grandi!
brown (hair)	castano
tattoo	il tatuaggio
The boy with brown, curly hair has a tattoo and a scar.	Il ragazzo dai capelli castani e ricci ha un tatuaggio e una cicatrice.
glasses	gli occhiali
gaze / look	lo sguardo
The man with the mustache and glasses has a tired look.	L'uomo dai baffi e dagli occhiali ha uno sguardo stanco.
mole / beauty mark	il neo
The woman with the glasses and the mole has a sad look.	La donna dagli occhiali e dal neo ha uno sguardo triste.
The teacher with the mole has a tattoo and brown hair.	L'insegnante dal neo ha un tatuaggio e i capelli castani.

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