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### The shape-shifting adjective: bello

In Italian, adjectives usually follow the noun. However, the adjective **bello** (beautiful, handsome, nice) frequently comes *before* the noun it describes. 

When it comes directly before a noun, **bello** shape-shifts to match the noun's starting sound. In fact, its variations perfectly mirror the rules for definite articles (**il**, **lo**, **l'**, **la**).

Here are the singular forms:

| Form | Matches Article | Used before... | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| **bella** | la | Most feminine singular nouns | una bella statua |
| **bel** | il | Masculine nouns starting with most consonants | un bel ritratto |
| **bello** | lo | Masculine nouns starting with s+consonant, z, ps, etc. | un bello specchio |
| **bell'** | l' | Nouns starting with a vowel | un bell'affresco |

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### Masculine Plural: bei and begli

The masculine plural forms of **bello** before a noun also follow the exact same phonetic rules as the plural definite articles (**i** and **gli**).

| Form | Matches Article | Used before... | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| **bei** | i | Masculine plural nouns starting with most consonants | due bei ritratti |
| **begli** | gli | Masculine plural nouns starting with vowels or s+consonant, z, etc. | tre begli specchi |

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### Feminine Plural: belle

Feminine plural nouns are refreshingly simple! Just like the single feminine plural article **le**, there is only one plural form for feminine nouns: **belle**.

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The adjective beautiful (bel, bello, bei)

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

Form	Matches Article	Used before...	Example
bella	la	Most feminine singular nouns	una bella statua
bel	il	Masculine nouns starting with most consonants	un bel ritratto
bello	lo	Masculine nouns starting with s+consonant, z, ps, etc.	un bello specchio
bell'	l'	Nouns starting with a vowel	un bell'affresco

Form	Matches Article	Used before...	Example
bei	i	Masculine plural nouns starting with most consonants	due bei ritratti
begli	gli	Masculine plural nouns starting with vowels or s+consonant, z, etc.	tre begli specchi