Italian speakers often shorten everyday words, like il frigorifero (refrigerator) to il frigo. When made plural, these "clipped" nouns are invariable—their endings do not change. Instead, the article and any adjectives change to show the plural.
| We bought two spacious fridges for the restaurant. | Abbiamo comprato due frigo spaziosi per il ristorante. |
Feminine Clipped Nouns
Feminine clipped nouns work exactly the same way. The noun stays invariable, while the article and adjectives take feminine plural endings (usually le and -e).
| Green electric bikes are very expensive. | Le bici elettriche verdi sono molto costose. |
Pay special attention to feminine abbreviations ending in -o, like la moto (from la motocicletta) and la foto (from la fotografia). Despite their masculine-looking endings, their surrounding articles and adjectives must agree with their feminine gender.
| Do you have three expensive motorcycles? | Avete tre moto costose? |
| The guys showed us the photos of the motorcycles. | I ragazzi ci hanno mostrato le foto delle moto. |
More Everyday Abbreviations
This invariable pattern applies to many familiar people, places, and modes of transit. For instance, il prof (from il professore) becomes i prof, and la metro (from la metropolitana) becomes le metro.
| The new profs are commuters. | I nuovi prof sono pendolari. |
| Urban subways are always crowded. | Le metro urbane sono sempre affollate. |
L'auto (from l'automobile) is another feminine noun that stays exactly the same in the plural:
| Electric cars are as expensive as motorcycles. | Le auto elettriche sono tanto costose quanto le moto. |