In Italian there is another class of nouns: those ending with E (as in "volpe" = fox). They can be either feminine or masculine; the only way to know their gender is by using a dictionary, by experience or by deduction (for example, if they have an article in front.)

Compare :
una donna (a woman - feminine ), una volpe (a fox - feminine )
un ragazzo ( a boy - masculine ), un falegname ( a carpenter - masculine )

Adjectives are also divided into A/O endings "simpaticA , simpaticO" and E endings "importantE."

1) adjectives ending in "E" maintain the same form for feminine and masculine (una donnA importantE, un uomO importantE).

2) Some nouns have an irregular feminine form (like "attore", "attrice").

COLORS

Colors are adjectives.

Some useful colors to describe are:

• bianco/a = white
• blu = blue
• giallo/a = yellow
• grigio/a = gray
• marrone = brown
• nero/a = black
• rosa = pink
• rosso/a = red
• verde = green

Note that blu and rosa are invariable.

For example: un gatto nero, una macchina gialla, un libro blu (a black cat, a yellow car, a blue book).

With short and simple sentences, beginner students can describe and say many things.

Two very useful expressions to describe are:

• c'è = there is
• ci sono = there are

For example, these few sentences describe Pino's home:

• La casa è bella e luminosa. = The home is beautiful and bright.
• Ci sono la cucina, il bagno, 2 stanze da letto e il soggiorno. = There are the kitchen, the bathroom, 2 bedrooms and the living room.
• Ci sono 8 finestre grandi. = There are 8 large windows.
• C'è un giardino piccolo. = There is a small garden.
• C'è una bicicletta rossa. = There is a red bicycle.
• Ci sono un cane e un gatto... = There are a dog and a cat ...

Some useful words to describe our home are:

• bagno = bath
• casa = home/house
• cucina = kitchen
• finestra = window
• luminoso/luminosa = light
• scuro/scura = dark
• soggiorno = living room
• stanza = room

Some useful words to describe our profession are:

• architetto (femminile irregolare: architettrice) = architect (irregular feminine - some women prefer to use the masculine version)
• attore (femminile irregolare: attrice) = actor (irregular feminine)
• avvocato (femminile irregolare: avvocatessa) = lawyer (irregular feminine - some women prefer to use the masculine version)
• cantante = singer (the feminine version does not change)
• comico/comica = comic
• cuoco/cuoca = cook, chef
• dottore (femminile irregolare: dottoressa) = doctor (irregular feminine)
• giocoliere/giocoliera = juggler
• imprenditore (femminile irregolare: imprenditrice) = entrepreneur (irregular feminine)
• ingegnere/ingegnera (alcune donne preferiscono usare la versione maschile) = engineer (some women prefer to use the masculine version)
• insegnante = teacher (the feminine version does not change)
• meccanico/meccanica = mechanic (some women prefer to use the masculine version)
• medico = doctor (female does not change)
• scienziato/scienziata = scientist
• studente (femminile irregolare: studentessa) = student (irregular feminine)

* In recent years in Italy there have been many debates about the masculine and feminine version of the name of some professions.

For some professions that in the past were traditionally masculine, the feminine version of the name was not used. Some women now say that it is important to use the feminine version to solidify the importance and presence of women in those professions.

Other women say that they still prefer to use the masculine version because the feminine version seems strange (they give the example of workers on a construction-site who might not take an "ingegnera" or an "architettrice" seriously).

At CyberItalian we believe that all women should have the freedom to use whichever version they prefer. What do you think?

Italian words have different endings for the masculine and feminine form and for the singular and plural form.

Compare:

1. donnA (feminine, singular)
2. donnE (feminine, plural)

1. ragazzO (masculine, singular)
2. ragazzI (masculine, plural)

Different endings add to the music of the Italian language!

The feminine plural is different from the masculine plural, unless the noun ends with E in the singular form (as in volpE or falegnamE).

Compare:

la donnA buonA (feminine, singular)
le donnE buonE (feminine, plural)

il ragazzO buonO (masculine, singular)
i ragazzI buonI (masculine, plural)

la volpE importantE (feminine, singular)
le volpI importantI (feminine, plural)

il falegnamE importantE (masculine, singular)
i falegnamI importantI (masculine, plural)

IMPORTANT: foreign nouns (like "sport", "bar", "hotel"...) are usually masculine and they don't change in the plural. Also, nouns with an accent on the last vowel ("la città", "il caffè", etc...) don't change in the plural.

IMPORTANT: some nouns have an irregular plural (like "uomo/uomini" = man/men)

"Il" and "la" (singular) , "gli" and "i" (plural) , are definite articles. In English it is easy, there is only one definite article: "the"!

"Il" and "i" are used in front of masculine nouns beginning with a consonant: "il bambino, i bambini" (the child, the children).

"L'" and "gli" are used in front of masculine nouns beginning with a vowel: "l'amico, gli amici" (the friend, the friends).

"La" and "le" are used in front of feminine nouns beginning with a consonant: "la fata, le fate" (the fairy, the fairies).

We also have "lo" and "gli", for masculine nouns starting with... discover it checking the Grammar with Pinocchio biking:

"Ho" and "ha" are forms of the verb "Avere" (remember that Italians do not pronounce the "h".)

The verb "Avere" as well (like the verb "Essere") is useful to describe. E.g.:

• Io ho tanti amici (I have many friends.)
• Tu hai pochi amici (you have few friends.)
• Lui ha una bicicletta (he has a bicycle.)