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Compound nouns (*nomi composti*) are formed by joining two words. Their plural forms depend on the types of words combined.

### Verb + Noun = Usually invariable

If a compound is made of a verb and a plural noun, the word itself doesn't change. You only change the article. This applies to everyday items like *il portachiavi* (key ring), *l'apribottiglie* (bottle opener), and *il portaombrelli* (umbrella stand).

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Compounds formed with a verb and a singular feminine noun are also usually invariable, such as *il guardaroba* (*guardare* + *la roba*).

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**Exception:** A few verb + singular noun combinations behave like regular masculine nouns and take an **-i** ending. For example, *il salvagente* (life jacket) becomes *i salvagenti*.

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### Noun + Adjective = Both parts change

When a compound is formed by a noun and an adjective, you usually pluralize **both** parts. For example, *la cassaforte* (safe) becomes *le casseforti*.

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### Noun + Noun = First part changes

If the compound consists of two nouns where the first is the "head," only the **first** noun changes. For example, a head waiter is *il caposala* (head of the room). In the plural, only *capo* changes, becoming *i capisala*.

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### Invariable phrases

Words formed by a preposition/adverb + noun (like *il dopocena*, after-dinner) or shortened noun phrases (like *il centrotavola*, centerpiece, from *centro della tavola*) are completely invariable in the plural.

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Plural compound nouns

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
key ring	il portachiavi
ground floor	il pianterreno
The key rings are on the ground floor.	I portachiavi sono al pianterreno.
I would need the room key rings.	Avrei bisogno dei portachiavi delle camere.
bottle opener	l'apribottiglie
We bought two new bottle openers.	Abbiamo comprato due apribottiglie nuovi.
cloakroom	il guardaroba
The bottle openers are near the cloakrooms.	Gli apribottiglie sono vicino ai guardaroba.
umbrella stand	il portaombrelli
The umbrella stands are broken because of the wind.	I portaombrelli sono rotti a causa del vento.
I liked the metal umbrella stands.	Mi sono piaciuti i portaombrelli di metallo.
The hotel's cloakrooms are safe.	I guardaroba dell'albergo sono sicuri.
safe (strongbox)	la cassaforte
The thieves stole the money from all the safes.	I ladri hanno rubato i soldi da tutte le casseforti.
We have two safes on the ground floor.	Abbiamo due casseforti al pianterreno.
head waiter	il caposala
life jacket	il salvagente
On the boat, the head waiters check the life jackets.	Sulla barca, i capisala controllano i salvagenti.
The head waiters organize the reception.	I capisala organizzano il ricevimento.
All the passengers have life jackets.	Tutti i passeggeri hanno i salvagenti.
after-dinner	il dopocena
The after-dinners in the hotel are relaxing.	I dopocena in albergo sono rilassanti.
The after-dinners on the beach are unforgettable.	I dopocena in spiaggia sono indimenticabili.
centerpiece	il centrotavola
The glass centerpieces are elegant.	I centrotavola di vetro sono eleganti.
These centerpieces are very beautiful.	Questi centrotavola sono molto belli.

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