A1 Italian GrammarAdjectives
Use Italian adjectives with correct gender and number agreement, and understand their typical placement after the noun.
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1Adjective Agreement
Italian adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun. Four endings: -o (m.sg), -a (f.sg), -i (m.pl), -e (f.pl).
Four-Form Adjectives
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | alto | alti |
| Feminine | alta | alte |
Examples
Il ragazzo è alto.
The boy is tall.
masculine singular
La ragazza è alta.
The girl is tall.
feminine singular
I ragazzi sono alti.
The boys are tall.
masculine plural
Le ragazze sono alte.
The girls are tall.
feminine plural
2Two-Form Adjectives
Adjectives ending in -e have only two forms: -e (singular) and -i (plural), same for both genders.
Two-Form Adjectives
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | grande | grandi |
| Feminine | grande | grandi |
Examples
Il libro è interessante.
The book is interesting.
-e singular
La storia è interessante.
The story is interesting.
same for feminine
I film sono interessanti.
The movies are interesting.
-i plural
Le case sono grandi.
The houses are big.
-i for both genders
3Adjective Placement
Most adjectives come after the noun. Some common ones (bello, buono, grande, piccolo) can come before.
Placement
| After Noun | Before Noun (common) |
|---|---|
| un libro interessante | un bel libro |
| una macchina rossa | una bella macchina |
| un ragazzo italiano | un grande amico |
Examples
Ho un'auto nuova.
I have a new car.
after noun
È un bel giorno.
It's a beautiful day.
bello before noun
Mangio una pizza buona.
I'm eating a good pizza.
after noun
È un grande uomo.
He's a great man.
grande before (= great)
4Bello and Buono
Bello (beautiful) and buono (good) have special forms when placed before nouns, similar to articles.
Bello Forms (before noun)
| Before | Masc. | Fem. |
|---|---|---|
| consonant | bel/bei | bella/belle |
| vowel | bell' | bell' |
| s+cons, z | bello/begli | bella/belle |
Examples
Che bel vestito!
What a beautiful dress!
bel before consonant
È un bell'uomo.
He's a handsome man.
bell' before vowel
Che buon caffè!
What good coffee!
buon before consonant
È una buon'idea.
It's a good idea.
buon' before vowel (f.)
Practice Exercises
3 exercises
Complete: 'La ragazza è ___.' (The girl is tall.)
Complete: 'I libri sono ___.' (The books are interesting.)
Complete: 'Che ___ giorno!' (What a beautiful day!)
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