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### Dusting Off Nouns Ending in "-io"

As we inventory the curious objects in an Italian antique shop, you will notice many masculine items end in **-io**, such as *calamaio* (inkwell) and *leggio* (reading stand). 

When making these nouns plural, they will end in either a single **-i** or a double **-ii**. The trick lies in knowing where the stress falls in the singular word.

### Plurals with an Unstressed "i"

For the vast majority of nouns ending in **-io**, the stress falls on a syllable *before* the final **i** (e.g., ca-la-MA-io). 

When pluralizing these words, simply drop the final **-o**. The plural form ends in a single **-i**.

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### Plurals with a Stressed "i"

If the stress falls directly on the **i** in the **-io** ending (e.g., ci-go-LÌ-o), you must keep that stressed **i** and add the standard plural **-i**. This results in a double **-ii** ending.

Listen for this slightly drawn-out *ee-ee* sound in words like *cigolio* (creak), *leggio* (reading stand), and *oblio* (oblivion).

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### Masculine Nouns Ending in "-ma"

While sorting through the shop's oddities, you might also find a *diadema* (diadem or tiara). 

Though it ends in **-a**, *diadema* is a masculine noun. Words of Greek origin ending in **-ma** are usually masculine. In the plural, they follow the standard masculine rule, changing the final **-a** to an **-i** (*diademi*).

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Plurals of nouns ending in -io

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 inkwell	il calamaio
I clean the silver inkwells.	Pulisco i calamai d'argento.
the reliquary	il reliquiario
The reliquaries are on the table.	I reliquiari sono sul tavolo.
There are many inkwells and reliquaries to clean.	Ci sono molti calamai e reliquiari da pulire.
the creak / the squeak	il cigolio
the skylight	il lucernario
I hear the creaks of the old skylights.	Sento i cigolii dei vecchi lucernari.
I hear the creaks too, I swear it.	Sento i cigolii anche io, lo giuro.
the reading stand / the music stand	il leggio
the orrery / the planetarium	il planetario
We sell reading stands and old orreries.	Vendiamo leggii e vecchi planetari.
The reading stands are heavy, I confirm it.	I leggii sono pesanti, lo confermo.
the oblivion (m)	l'oblio
I save these objects from oblivion.	Salvo questi oggetti dall'oblio.
Long oblivions ruin the objects.	I lunghi oblii rovinano gli oggetti.
the tinkling / the clink	il tintinnio
the diadem / the tiara	il diadema
I hear the tinklings of the gold diadems.	Sento i tintinnii dei diademi d'oro.
There are problems with the glass skylights.	Ci sono problemi con i lucernari di vetro.
the murmur / the buzz	il brusio
The murmurs of the customers bother me.	I brusii dei clienti mi disturbano.
I ignore the murmurs and the tinklings.	Ignoro i brusii e i tintinnii.
I restore the old orreries, I promise it.	Restauro i vecchi planetari, lo prometto.
The diadems are expensive, I know it well.	I diademi sono cari, lo so bene.

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