Definite articles play an important role in Italian grammar when it comes to indicating whether a noun is referring to a specific person, place or thing. In the Italian language, definite articles communicate a noun’s gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). This allows the listener to understand key details about the noun before even hearing it.
When you first start to learn Italian, remembering when to use articles and which article to choose can be confusing. Italian has seven definite articles – il, lo, la, l’, le, i, gli – used in specific situations based on a set of rules. However, don’t worry – while properly using articles in Italian will take some practice, this article breaks things down clearly for beginners.
We’ll cover the rules in a straightforward way that will have you mastering Italian definite article usage in no time. Soon it will become instinctual to know just from a noun’s gender and form whether it requires the singular article lo, the plural le, or no article at all.
Table of Contents
Italian Articles Overview
Before focusing all this lesson on one type, I want to give you a quick overview of Italian articles, to help you understand things better.
In Italian, there are 3 types of articles:
- Articoli determinativi (definite articles – this lesson)
- Articoli indeterminativi (indefinite articles)
- Articoli partitivi (partitive articles)
For now, all you need to know is this:
- The first type is used to refer to a specific thing
- The second type is used to quantify something
- The third type is used to refer to an uncountable amount of something.
Definite And Indefinite Articles In Italian
We already learned that definite articles in Italian are called articoli determinativi.
In English, there’s only one definite article – the. It’s used with any type of word, including plural ones.
In Italian, there is a definite article for every noun gender – masculine and feminine and for both singular and plural forms. There’s even one for words starting with a vowel, and another article for words starting with specific consonants or groups of consonants.
We can say pretty much the same about indefinite articles, which we call articoli indeterminativi in Italian. In English, they are two – a and an; in Italian, we have 4 of them – all singular this time. Learn more about Italian indefinite articles here (coming soon).
The In Italian: 7 Ways To Say It With Rules
In total, there are seven definite articles in Italian. In this section, we’ll learn when and how to use each one. But before let’s see how to pronounce them correctly.
Gli Articoli Determinativi Pronunciation
Il, lo, la, l’, i, gli, le.
Click the audio below to listen to me pronounce all of them.
Il in Italian
Il it’s a singular and masculine indefinite article. Use it with singular masculine nouns, like in the following examples.
Il libro – The book
Il bambino – The kid
Il cugino – The cousin
Il cuscino – The pillow
Il biberon – The baby bottle
Il cruciverba – The crossword puzzle
Il fazzoletto – The tissue
Il neonato – The babu
Il papà – The dad
Il coccodrillo – The crocodile
Il falò – The bonfire
La in Italian
Use la for feminine words that are also singular.
Examples:
La mamma – The mum
La zia – The aunty
La borsa – The handbag
La maglietta – The tshirt
La cucina – The kitchen
La sedia – The chair
La cena – The dinner
La porta – The door
La scuola – The school
La chiesa – The church
La maestra – The teacher
La dottoressa – The doctor
L in Italian
For words that start with a vowel, we use l’ regardless of whether they are masculine or feminine. That’s because in Italian we try to avoid two consecutive vowels so that words sound clear and flow smoothly.
Look at the examples below:
L’aereo (aereo is masculine) – The airplane
L’atmosfera (atmosphere is feminine) – The atmosphere
L’albicocca (apricot is feminine) – The apricot
L’albergo (albergo is masculine) – The hotel
L’orto (orto is masculine) – The vegetable garden
L’arte (arte is feminine) – The art
Lo in Italian
Lo is a special definite article Italians use with words starting with these consonants or consonant groups: i, j, s, z, x, y, gn, ps, pn, sc.
Examples:
Lo struzzo – The ostrich
Lo zaino – The backpack
Lo xilofono – The xylophone
Lo yogurt – The yogurt
Lo gnocco – The dumpling
Lo pseudonimo – The pseudonym
Lo pneumatico – The tire
You might have noticed that all those words are masculine. That’s correct. Indeed, we use lo only with masculine words that start with those consonants.
Let’s now look at the plural of the definite articles in Italian.
I in Italian
The article I is the plural of lo, and we use it with plural masculine words.
To make things easier to grasp, I am using the same examples we saw in the singular form, but this time we’ll learn their plural article combination.
I libri – The books
I bambini – The kids
I cugini – The cousins
I cuscini – The pillows
I biberon – The baby bottles
I cruciverba – The crossword puzzles
I fazzoletti – The tissues
I neonati – The babies
I papà – The dads
I coccodrilli – The crocodiles
I falò – The bonfires
Le in Italian
Le is the plural of la. Use that with feminine words in the plural.
Examples:
Le mamme – The mums
Le zie – The aunties
Le borse – The handbags
Le magliette – The t-shirts
Le cucine – The kitchens
Le sedie – The chairs
Le cene – The dinners
Le porte – The doors
Le scuole – The schools
Le chiese – The churches
Le maestre – The teachers
Le dottoresse – The doctors
Gli in Italian
Those words that take lo in the singular take gli in the plural. I am referring to masculine words that start with i, j, s, z, x, y, gn, pn, ps, sc.
Examples:
Gli struzzi – The ostriches
Gli zaini – The backpacks
Gli xilofoni – The xylophones
Gli yogurt – The yogurts
Gli gnocchi – The dumplings
Gli pseudonimi – The pseudonyms
Gli pneumatici – The tires
What happens to L’ in the plural?
Look at the plural of the examples we saw earlier in singular form.
Gli aerei – The airplanes
Le atmosfere – The atmospheres
Le albicocche – The apricots
Gli alberghi – The hotels
Gli orti – The vegetable gardens
Le arti – The arts
Each one took a different article. So you might be wondering what’s the rule behind that.
It’s very simple when you think that l’ is simply the truncation of the article lo o la.
So take examples 3, 4 and 6 above: l’atmosfera is the truncation of la atmosfera. Hence, the plural is le.
What about the others? Why are we using gli when the plural wasn’t lo?
That’s because of some special rules we’ll discuss in the next section.
Special Rules You Need to Learn About The Articoli Determinativi
The general rules we saw earlier have some exceptions. Let’s look at these.
1. Use gli for plural masculine words that start with a vowel.
Examples: gli orti (the vegetable gardens), gli idraulici (the plumbers).
2. Use le for plural feminine words that start with a vowel. There’s no truncation in the plural.
Examples: le età(the ages), le amiche (the female friends).
3. After dei (plural of god) we use gli not i.
Il dio > Gli dei
4. Uovo takes the singular masculine l’ and the plural feminine le.
L’uovo > Le uova
5. Whisky takes lo in singular form and gli in plural.
Lo whisky > Gli whisky
You can also say il whisky, both are correct.
6. Words starting with an h take the singular l’ and the plural gli, if they are masculine.
L’hamburger > gli hamburger
L’harem > Gli harem
7. The article before abbreviations (in Italian called sigle) changes depending on the gender but also the way the word sounds.
Gli UFO, L’ASL, La NATO, La RAI, L’FMI.
When To Use Definite Articles In Italian
In general, we always use a definite article in Italian if we want to refer to something specific, like the car is red – La macchina è rossa.
Here are all the uses of the definite article:
– to indicate specific objects or people:
This is the house I like. – Questa è la casa che mi piace.
– with possessive adjectives and pronouns:
I like my car. – Mi piace la mia auto.
– with abstract nouns or those of general meaning, including colors:
Love has no age. – L’amore non ha età.
I like blue. – Mi piace il blu.
– with body parts and clothing:
I wash my hair once a week. – Mi lavo i capelli una volta alla settimana.
Put on the jacket! – Mettiti la giacca.
– with dates, if not preceded by the day of the week:
Today is March 12. – Oggi è il 12 Marzo.
Today is Thursday, November 26. – Oggi è Giovedì, 12 Marzo.
– with a temporal value:
It’s eight twenty. – Sono le otto e venti.
In the morning, I go to school. – La mattina, vado a scuola.
– with days of the week to indicate repeated and habitual actions:
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I go to the gym. – I martedi e i giovedi, vado in palestra.
– in physical descriptions, with the verb “have”:
Maria has blonde hair. – Maria ha i capelli biondi.
– with titles of rank or professions followed by a name:
Dr. Paolini is an excellent doctor. – Il Dottor Paolini e’ un dottore eccellente.
– with most geographical names (but NOT with city names):
Italy is a peninsula. – L’italia è una penisola.
– with language names:
I understand French, but not Spanish. – Io capisco il Francese, ma non lo Spagnolo.
Ryan speaks Italian quite well. – Ryan parla l’Italiano molto bene.
– sometimes with names of famous people:
Botticelli painted The Birth of Venus. – Botticelli dipinse La Nascita di Venere.
Do you know that in North of Italy, especially in Lombardia, they often use the definite article before the name of a person? This is done when referring to a third person, usually not present? For example, they say La Paola, Il Marcello.
When not to use them
If you’d rather say that one car is red, then you would use the indefinite article instead. One car is red – Una macchina è rossa.
Other than that, don’t use the definite article in these situations:
– with possessive adjectives before singular family names;
My sister is 20 years old. – Mia sorella ha venti anni.
My little sister is 20 years old. – La mia sorellina ha venti anni.
The exception lies when you modify those nouns. Sorella became sorellina (little sister). In that case, we can use the definite article la.
– in descriptions and enumerations:
In the city, there are shops, bars, restaurants, theaters, and cinemas. – In città ci sono negozi, bar, ristoranti, teatri e cinema.
Notice how we didn’t put an article before each noun (i negozi, i bar, i ristoranti, etc)
– with city names, except for some exceptions like La Spezia, L’Aquila.
Milan is a very urban city. – We don’t say La Milano è una città molto urbana. The correct way is Milano è una città molto urbana.
Let’s Revise: Italian Definite Articles Chart
Before we start our practice and quiz time, here’s a quick chart for you to practice quickly.
| Italian Definite Article | When to use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Il | Before a singular and masculine noun | Il libro – the book |
| La | Before a singular and feminine noun | La mamma – the mum |
| Lo | With singular nouns starting with i, j, s, x, y, z, gn, pn, ps, sc. | Lo zaino – the backpack |
| L’ | Before singular masculine and feminine nouns starting with a vowel. | L’aereo – the airplane |
| I | Before plural and masculine nouns. | I libri – the books |
| Le | Before plural and feminine nouns. | Le mamme – the mums |
| Gli | With plura nounts that start with i, j, s, x, y, z, gn, pn, ps, sc. | Gli zaini – the backpacks |
Italian Definite Articles Practice Time
Before we test what you have learned today about the definite articles in Italian, we are going to practice with more examples.
Singular Form
Il ragazzo sta leggendo un libro. (The boy is reading a book.)
Abbiamo le lezioni di italiano ogni settimana. (We have Italian lessons every week.)
Il giornale è sulla tavola. (The newspaper is on the table.)
Guarda gli uccelli nel cielo. (Look at the birds in the sky.)
La mia sorellina è un insegnante di matematica. (My sister is a math teacher.)
Plural Form
Gli amici sono simpatici. (The friends are nice.)
Ho comprato i pantaloni nuovi. (I bought new pants.)
I libri sono sulla mensola. (The books are on the shelf.)
Guarda le ragazze là fuori. (Look at the girls out there.)
Abbiamo i biglietti per il concerto. (We have tickets for the concert.)
Italian Definite Articles Quiz
Here’s a quiz that tests your knowledge of definite articles in Italian. The questions cover both theory and practice. Let’s go!
Theory:
1. How many types of articles are there in Italian?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
2. What is the main function of definite articles in Italian?
a. To indicate quantity
b. To refer to specific things
c. To express uncertainty
d. To describe emotions
3. Which definite article is used with masculine nouns starting with specific consonants or groups of consonants?
a. Il
b. Lo
c. L’
d. Gli
4. What is the plural form of “La”?
a. I
b. Le
c. Gli
d. L’
5. When do you use “L’” in Italian?
a. Before masculine nouns starting with a vowel
b. Before feminine nouns starting with a vowel
c. Before masculine and feminine nouns starting with a vowel
d. Before masculine and feminine nouns starting with a consonant
Practice:
6. Fill in the blank with the correct definite article: ___ gatto è sul tetto. (The cat is on the roof.)
a. Il
b. La
c. Lo
d. I
7. Translate the following sentence into Italian: “She is a doctor.”
a. Lei è un dottoressa.
b. Lei è un dottore.
c. Lei è una dottoressa.
d. Lei è una dottore.
8. Identify the correct plural definite article for the word “zaino” (backpack).
a. Gli
b. Le
c. I
d. Lo
9. Which special rule applies to masculine words starting with “h” when using definite articles?
a. Use “La” for singular and “Le” for plural.
b. Use “L’” for singular and “Gli” for plural.
c. Use “Il” for singular and “I” for plural.
d. Use “Lo” for singular and “Gli” for plural.
10. In which situations would you not use definite articles?
a. When referring to specific objects or people.
b. In descriptions and enumerations.
c. Before city names.
d. All of the above.
Answers:
1. c. 3
2. b. To refer to specific things
3. b. Lo
4. b. Le
5. a. Before masculine nouns starting with a vowel
6. a. Il
7. c. Lei è una dottoressa.
8. a. Gli
9. b. Use “L’” for singular and “Gli” for plural.
10. d. All of the above.
Final Thoughts
As you continue to learn Italian, keep in mind these rules for when to use articles in the Italian language. Pay attention to whether the noun is singular or plural, masculine or feminine – this will guide you to the correct article to use.
There are some instances where you don’t use definite articles in Italian, but overall grasping the grammar related to definite articles is key for mastering the Italian language. With regular practice, determining the appropriate article will become second nature, allowing you to focus on further enhancing your Italian skills.
Articoli Determinativi FAQ
What are the 7 articles in Italian?
The 7 definite articles in Italian are:
- Il (masculine singular)
- Lo (masculine singular before i, j, s, sc, gn, pn, ps, x, y, z)
- La (feminine singular)
- L’ (before vowels)
- I (masculine plural)
- Gli (masculine plural before vowels, before i, j, s, sc, gn, pn, ps, x, y, z)
- Le (feminine plural)
What are the rules for indefinite articles in Italian?
The rules for indefinite articles (un, uno, una) depend on the gender and number of the noun. Un is used before masculine nouns starting with z, s+consonant, gn, pn, x, y. Uno is used before most other masculine singular nouns. Una is used before feminine singular nouns.
How do you know what article to use in Italian?
You know which article to use based on:
- The noun’s gender (masculine vs feminine)
- Whether the noun is singular or plural
- The first letter(s) of the noun
What is the definite article gli in Italian?
Gli is the masculine plural definite article used before vowels i, j, and consonants s, sc, gn, pn, ps, x, y, z. For example, gli amici (the friends).
Do you always have to use a definite article in Italian?
No, you do not always have to use a definite article in Italian. There are cases where the article is omitted, like in descriptions/enumerations.
When should I use a definite vs indefinite article in Italian?
Use definite articles when referring to a specific, known person/thing. Use indefinite when you want to quantify things.
What is the difference between il and la in Italian?
Il is masculine singular, la is feminine singular. Il ragazzo = the boy, la ragazza = the girl.
Why is it lo zucchero and not il zucchero?
It’s lo zucchero because zucchero starts with z, and lo is used before z in singular masculine nouns.
What are the rules for Lo in Italian?
The rules for Lo: Use before masculine singular nouns starting with s, sc, gn, pn, ps, x, y, z and i, and y.
What is the difference between Gli and I?
The difference between gli and i is that gli is used before vowels, s, sc, etc while i is the masculine plural article for most other nouns.
Is it gli ragazzi or i ragazzi?
It’s i ragazzi. I is used because ragazzi is a masculine plural noun with no special rule.
What is the definite article for Amica in Italian?
The definite article for amica (female friend) is l’ (before the vowel). The plural is le amiche.
What is the definite article for Casa in Italian?
The definite article for casa (house) is la. The plural is le case.
What is the definite article for Zaino?
The definite article for zaino (backpack) is lo in the singular, gli in the plural.
What is the definite article for ristorante?
The definite article for ristorante (restaurant) is il in the singular, i in the plural.
What is the definite article for hotel in Italian?
The definite article for hotel is l’ (before the h) in the singular, gli in the plural.
What is the definite article for Aula in Italian?
The definite article for aula (classroom) is l’ in the singular, le in the plural.
What are the different words for the in Italian?
The different words for “the” in Italian are: il, lo, la, l’, i, gli, le.
What is the masculine word for the in Italian?
The masculine words for “the” in Italian are: il, lo, l’ in singular form and i, gli in plural form.
