What are the articles in Italian?

What are the articles in Italian?

• Definite articles (“the” in English) → il, l',la, lo, i, le, and gli

• Indefinite articles (“a” and “an” in English) → un, uno, un’, and una

• Partitive articles (“some” or “any” in English) → del, dello, dell’, della, dei, degli, delle

As you can see, unlike the English ones, articles in Italian have many different forms. The form you use will depend on the gender and number of the noun, as well as on the noun’s first letter.

In this post, we’ll introduce you to the forms of the different Italian articles and discuss when to use each form. We’ll also direct you to some resources you can use to learn about when and why you’ll use different articles in Italian. Read on to learn more!

The definite articles in Italian are il, l’, lo, i,gli , la, and le. These all translate to “the” in English.

Italian uses a different form for the definite article depending on whether the noun that follows it is masculine or feminine, singular and plural.

• la casa → le case

  Translation: the house (f.) → the houses (f.)
• il banco → i banchi

  Translation: the desk (m.) → the desks (m.)

But the form of the article is also affected by the first letter(s) of the word that come immediately after it. This word is often the noun itself, but can also be a modifier that precedes the noun. Look at the difference here:

1. l’amico (meaning the friend)

2. il migliore amico (meaning the best friend)

Let’s look first at the masculine definite articles, then the feminine ones.

The indefinite articles in Italian are un, uno, una, un’. All of these roughly translate to “a/an” in English.

Indefinite articles are only used with singular nouns, but as we saw with definite articles above, the form you use will depend on the gender of the noun and on the first letter(s) of the following word.

Let’s start with masculine indefinite articles, and then turn to the feminine ones.

The Italian partitive articles are del, dello, dell’, della, dell’, dei, degli, and delle. These all translate to “some/any” and they are a combination of the preposition di (meaning of) with a definite article (il, lo, l’, la, and i, gli, le (meaning the)).

When should you use them?

• Before a singular noun, they tell your listener that you’re talking about part of a whole food or substance. Use the singular to translate phrases like: “some cake” or “some water.”

• Before a plural noun, they tell your listener that you’re talking about an undetermined quantity of something, and can be used as plural indefinite articles. Use the plural to translate phrases like “some pens”

The form of the partitive article will depend on which definite article you would use with a given noun, so you’ll need to look at the gender and number of the noun, as well as the first letter(s) of the word that immediately follows the article.

Let’s look at the singular partitive articles first, and then the plural ones.

In conclusion, for each type of article, definite, indefinite, and partitive, let’s keep in mind that there are three questions you need to ask yourself to help you decide which article to use in Italian:

• Is the noun they precede masculine or feminine?

• Is it singular or plural?

• Does the word they precede begin with a consonant, a vowel, an h, with s + another consonant, z, gn, pn, ps, x, y, or i + vowel?

Now it is time to practice with our exercises! Proviamo! (meaning Let’s try!)