Masculine Plurals: -o becomes -i
In Italian, you don't add an "s" to make a noun plural. Instead, you change the ending vowel. For most regular masculine nouns ending in -o, the plural ending changes to -i.
The masculine singular definite article il (the) also changes to i.
| the child | il bambino |
| The children are here. | I bambini sono qui. |
Remember that adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe. A masculine singular adjective ending in -o will also change its ending to -i in the plural to match the noun.
| The cats are black. | I gatti sono neri. |
| The plates are clean. | I piatti sono puliti. |
Feminine Plurals: -a becomes -e
For most regular feminine nouns ending in -a, the plural ending changes to -e.
The feminine singular definite article la (the) changes to le.
| the bag | la borsa |
| The black bags are new. | Le borse nere sono nuove. |
Just like with masculine adjectives, feminine adjectives ending in -a will change to -e to match the plural noun.
| The windows are open. | Le finestre sono aperte. |
| The red apples are good. | Le mele rosse sono buone. |
Putting It All Together
When your sentences get longer, simply apply the plural rules to each noun, article, and adjective individually.
| The tickets and the documents are here. | I biglietti e i documenti sono qui. |
| The trains and the bags are here. | I treni e le borse sono qui. |
