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When masculine nouns end in **-co** or **-go**, forming their plural requires a spelling change. The final vowel becomes **-i**, but you must also decide whether to keep the consonant sound "hard" (like a "k" or hard "g") or let it become "soft" (like a "ch" or "j").

### The stress rule: "-chi" vs. "-ci"

For most words, the plural ending depends on where the emphasis falls in the singular word:

- **Stress on the next-to-last syllable:** Add an **h** to keep the hard sound (**-chi**, **-ghi**). For example, *elenco* (list) is stressed on the *len*, so the plural is *elenchi*.
- **Stress on the third-to-last syllable:** Do not add an *h*. The sound softens (**-ci**, **-gi**). For example, *storico* (historian) is stressed on the *sto*, so the plural is *storici*.

Notice how this single sentence uses both patterns:

{{item:820507}}

### The "-logo" trick

Words ending in **-logo** often have the stress on the third-to-last syllable, but they have their own simple pattern based on meaning rather than stress:

- **Things and concepts** keep the hard sound by adding an **h** (**-ghi**).
- **People and professions** take the soft sound without an *h* (**-gi**).

Because catalogues, prologues, and epilogues are things, they take the hard **-ghi** ending:

{{item:820503}}

{{item:820512}}

But a word like *psicologo* (psychologist) refers to a person, so it takes the soft **-gi** ending:

{{item:820517}}

Masculine noun plurals in -co and -go (-chi, -ghi, -ci, -gi)

adjective

adjective/adverb

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (il, la, l')

Indefinite articles (un, una)

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
the catalogue	il catalogo
the author (m)	l'autore
I would like the catalogues of these new authors.	Vorrei i cataloghi di questi nuovi autori.
the publisher (m)	l'editore
the list (directory, roster) (m)	l'elenco
the historian	lo storico
The publishers have prepared the lists of the historians.	Gli editori hanno preparato gli elenchi degli storici.
the index (m)	l'indice
The historians are looking for the indexes of those old books.	Gli storici cercano gli indici di quei vecchi libri.
the prologue	il prologo
the epilogue (m)	l'epilogo
These authors never write prologues or epilogues.	Questi autori non scrivono mai prologhi o epiloghi.
the monologue	il monologo
I would have published the books with the monologues, but the publisher refused.	Avrei pubblicato i libri con i monologhi, ma l'editore ha rifiutato.
Yesterday I sent her the lists and the catalogues.	Ieri le ho mandato gli elenchi e i cataloghi.
In this text there are two prologues and three monologues.	In questo testo ci sono due prologhi e tre monologhi.
Psychologists also study the past, but historians know it better.	Anche gli psicologi studiano il passato, ma gli storici lo conoscono meglio.
I would have bought him the author's first book, but it wasn't in the catalogue.	Gli avrei comprato il primo libro dell'autore, ma non era nel catalogo.
I would like the indexes and the lists before the publisher arrives.	Vorrei gli indici e gli elenchi prima che l'editore arrivi.
The epilogues of the novels are very long.	Gli epiloghi dei romanzi sono molto lunghi.
The catalogues are updated by the publisher every month.	I cataloghi vengono aggiornati dall'editore ogni mese.
My colleague has printed the prologues and the monologues.	Il mio collega ha stampato i prologhi e i monologhi.
the essay	il saggio
the poem	la poesia
The author wrote a poem for his wife.	L'autore ha scritto una poesia per sua moglie.
I read a poem before sleeping.	Leggo una poesia prima di dormire.
I read two very interesting essays.	Ho letto due saggi molto interessanti.
This essay is about Italian history.	Questo saggio parla di storia italiana.

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