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In Italian, most nouns that end in *-a* are feminine. However, an important exception is a group of masculine nouns ending in **-ma**. Many of these words come from ancient Greek and are used to discuss complex concepts.

### Masculine Singular: *-ma*

These nouns take masculine singular articles (like *il*, *l'*, or *un*) and masculine adjectives.

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### Masculine Plural: *-mi*

To make these nouns plural, the final **-a** changes to **-i**, making the ending **-mi**. Remember to match them with masculine plural articles (like *i*, *gli*, or *questi*) and adjectives.

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Notice how the plural article acts exactly as it would for any other masculine noun. For example, masculine nouns starting with a vowel take *gli* (or *quegli* for "those"):

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### Academic and Abstract Themes

You will encounter this *-ma* to *-mi* pattern constantly when talking about academic subjects, literature, and science.

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Masculine nouns ending in -ma (-ma, -mi)

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
the system (general, method)	il sistema
The new systems are not better, they are worse.	I nuovi sistemi non sono migliori, sono peggiori.
This is a difficult system that I don't understand.	Questo è un sistema difficile che non capisco.
the dilemma	il dilemma
We have two difficult dilemmas to solve.	Abbiamo due dilemmi difficili da risolvere.
This is not a real dilemma for me at all.	Questo non è mica un vero dilemma per me.
the theorem	il teorema
The professor explained the theorems to us.	Il professore ci ha spiegato i teoremi.
This theorem is very difficult.	Questo teorema è molto difficile.
the theme	il tema
The themes of the book are very interesting.	I temi del libro sono molto interessanti.
He wrote an excellent text on these themes.	Ha scritto un ottimo testo su questi temi.
the enigma	l'enigma
Those enigmas are the worst.	Quegli enigmi sono i peggiori.
We solved the enigma together.	Abbiamo risolto l'enigma insieme.
the dogma	il dogma
The dogmas of this theory are not absolute.	I dogmi di questa teoria non sono assoluti.
You do not have to accept every dogma.	Non devi accettare ogni dogma.
the paradigm	il paradigma
The new paradigms change the world.	I nuovi paradigmi cambiano il mondo.
It's a paradigm that I don't know.	È un paradigma che non conosco.
the diploma	il diploma
The students received their diplomas.	Gli studenti hanno ricevuto i diplomi.
Without a diploma, finding work is more difficult.	Senza un diploma, trovare lavoro è più difficile.
the trauma	il trauma
These traumas are not easy to overcome.	Questi traumi non sono facili da superare.
It is a terrible trauma.	È un trauma terribile.
the epic poem	il poema
The epic poems that we read are very famous.	I poemi che abbiamo letto sono molto famosi.
They studied an ancient epic poem.	Hanno studiato un poema antico.