Singular definite articles (il, la)

Singular Definite Articles ("The")

Just as you learned un and una for "a" or "an", Italian uses definite articles for "the". The article must match the gender of the noun:

• Use il before masculine singular nouns.
• Use la before feminine singular nouns.

Adjective Agreement

Descriptive words (adjectives) must also match the noun's gender. Most regular adjectives change their last letter:

• Masculine nouns take adjectives ending in -o (like nuovo or piccolo).
• Feminine nouns take adjectives ending in -a (like nuova or piccola).

Adjectives that end in -e, like grande (big), are flexible. They use the exact same form for both masculine and feminine nouns.

Nouns Ending in "-e"

While most nouns ending in -o are masculine and -a are feminine, some Italian nouns end in -e. You will need to learn their gender as you encounter them. For example, cane (dog) is masculine, so it takes the article il and masculine adjective endings.