"Io sono una donnA simpaticA". Notice that the noun and the adjective end with A.
"Io sono un ragazzO simpaticO". Notice that the noun and the adjective end with O.

Italian nouns have either feminine or masculine gender. "Donna" (woman) is feminine (A ending), "ragazzo" (boy) is masculine (O ending). Recognizing the gender is important because the article and the adjective always agree with the gender of the noun (UNA donnA simpaticA, UN ragazzO simpaticO).

Remember that 'agreements' are one of the mechanisms that create the 'music of Italian language'!

IMPORTANT: dictionaries provide the masculine form and the feminine ending of the adjectives ("buono/a") and, when it exists, the feminine form of the nouns ("attore/attrice"). It is up to you to make the correct agreements ("unA ragazzA italianA"!)

Nouns are words that name and define people, things, places...

For example: uomo, donna, ragazzo, ragazza, cane, gatto, libro, telefono, casa, porta, finestra... (man, woman, boy, girl, dog, cat, book, telephone, home, door, window...)

Adjectives are words that tell about or describe a noun, adding more information to it.

For example: italiano, americano, biondo, bruno, alto, basso, simpatico, nervoso... (Italian, American, blond, brown, tall, short, nice, nervous...)

With nouns and adjectives we can describe. With short and simple descriptions, beginner students can say many things.

For example, this brief description gives many information about Antonio: "io sono Antonio. Sono un ragazzo italiano. Sono calmo. Sono sportivo." = I am Antonio. I am an Italian boy. I am calm. I am sporty.

Useful nouns to describe ourselves can be:

• io = I
• ragazzo = boy
• ragazza = girl
• uomo = man
• donna = woman

Useful adjectives to describe ourselves can be:

• americano/americana = American
• antipatico/antipatica = unpleasant
• calmo/calma = calm
• italiano/italiana = Italian
• italoamericano/italoamericana = Italian American
• nervoso/nervosa = nervous
• simpatico/simpatica = pleasant, nice
• spiritoso/spiritosa = witty
• sportivo/sportiva = sporty

Some useful adjectives to describe an object, our home or a monument are:

• allegro = cheerful
• antico = ancient
• bello = beautiful
• bianco = white
• brutto = ugly
• colorato = colored
• famoso = famous
• grande = big/great
• grigio = grey
• grosso = big
• largo = large/wide
• maestoso = majestic
• moderno = modern
• piccolo = little
• sconosciuto = unknown

For example: un monumento famoso (a famous monument.)

Look up other useful adjectives in the online dictionary.

Now watch this video. It is the Ara Pacis in Rome, one of the most ancient monuments in the world.

It is an altar dedicated to the Roman goddess Pax (Peace).
Can you think of some SIMPLE and EASY adjectives to describe the Ara Pacis Museum? (e.g. "bianco, nero, moderno, antico, bello, brutto..." white, black, modern, ancient, beautiful, ugly...).

For example: L'Ara Pacis è un monumento antico e bello. C'è una donna e c'è un bambino. Ci sono tante donne, tanti bambini e tanti uomini. (The Ara Pacis is an ancient and beautiful monument. There is a women and there is a child. There are many women, many children and many men.)

Use the online dictionary to look for more useful words.

Please note: the expressions "c'è" (there is) and "ci sono" (there are) are very useful to describe.

The expression "c'è" (there is) is used with names in the singular and "ci sono" (there are) with names in the plural.

For example: C'è un ragazzo. Ci sono due ragazzi. (There is a boy. There are two boys.)

In casa c'è una porta e ci sono 5 finestre. (In the house there is a door and there are 5 windows.)

"Un" e "una" are indefinite articles.

"Un" is used with masculine nouns starting with a consonant (un bambino = a child, un gatto = a cat) or with a vowel (un amico = a friend, un albero = a tree).

"Una" is used with feminine nouns starting with a consonant (una fata = a fairy, una casa = a house, una donna = a woman).

"Un'" (with apostrophe) is used with feminine nouns starting with a vowel (un'americana = an American woman, un'aquila = an eagle, un'acqua minerale = a mineral water).

We also have "uno" for masculine nouns starting with s+ consonant (uno specchio = a mirror, uno studente = a student, uno strano fatto = a strange fact...) and... click on Pinocchio biking for more information!