01 / 08
Learn the article with the noun
il tavolo / la carta
the table / the card
il caffè / la stazione
the coffee / the station
Many masculine nouns end in -o and many feminine nouns in -a, but there are exceptions. The article makes the pattern visible.
02 / 08
Before a vowel
l’amico / l’amica
the male friend / the female friend
l’acqua
the water
Both il and la become l’ before a vowel. The apostrophe does not tell you the noun’s gender by itself.
03 / 08
When masculine uses lo
lo scontrino / lo zaino
the receipt / the backpack
lo studente
the male student
Use lo before sounds such as s + consonant, z and gn. Learn the examples rather than trying to memorise every case now.
04 / 08
The plural
i tavoli / gli scontrini / le carte
the tables / the receipts / the cards
gli amici / le amiche
lyee ah-MEE-chee / leh ah-MEE-keh
the male or mixed friends / the female friends
Il becomes i, lo becomes gli, and la becomes le. Masculine l’ also becomes gli; feminine l’ becomes le.
05 / 08
A or an
un caffè / un amico / uno zaino
a coffee / a male friend / a backpack
Un is masculine before most consonants and vowels. Uno goes with nouns that use lo.
06 / 08
Feminine a or an
una carta / un’amica / un’acqua
a card / a female friend / a water
Una becomes un’ before a vowel. Write un’amica with an apostrophe, but un amico without one.
07 / 08
Watch the whole phrase
un caffè / due caffè / i caffè
a coffee / two coffees / the coffees
Plural nouns often change too: tavolo → tavoli, carta → carte. Words with final stress such as caffè stay the same.
Remember this
Takeaway
Il biglietto, un biglietto, i biglietti.
The ticket, a ticket, the tickets.
Store each noun with its article. This will help later with adjectives and pronouns as well as ordering things.