UNIT TWO
Definite and indefinite articles
Definite article
1 In Italian the definite article (English ‘the’) has different forms, depending
on the gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) of the fol-
lowing word, and on the letter (or sound) with which the following word
begins. Here are the forms:
2 The feminine forms are used before feminine words, la and l’ for the singu-
lar, and le for the plural:
la is used before words beginning with a consonant;
l’ is used before words beginning with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) or h;
le is used as the plural for both la and l’:3 There are three different forms for the masculine singular: il, lo and l’; and
two for the plural: i and gli. All these forms are used before masculine words:
FeminineMasculineSingular
la
l’
il
lo
l’Plural
le
le
i
gli
gli
the
Singular
la ragazza
la casa
la stanza
l’auto
l’esperienza
l’hostessPlural
le ragazze
le case
le stanze
le auto
le esperienze
le hostessthe girl(s)
the house(s)
the room(s)
the car(s)
the experience(s)
the stewardess(es)