NOTES
(from Duolingo)

The most common noun classes in Italian are the following:

  • Nouns ending in a in the singular and e in the plural (la ragazza | le ragazze). Most nouns in this class are feminine.
  • Nouns ending in o in the singular and i in the plural (il ragazzo | i ragazzi). Most nouns in this class are masculine.
  • Nouns ending in e in the singular and i in the plural (il pesce | i pesci). Nouns in this class can be any gender.
  • Nouns ending in a in the singular and i in the plural (il problema | i problemi). Most nouns in this class are masculine.

NOTES
(by DuoItalian)

It is important to know there are some common exceptions to the rules above:

  • Words ending with a grave accent, such as la città (the city), only change the final letter of the article, giving you le città (the cities).
  • Masculine nouns ending in co change to chi in the plural, as in cuoco/cuochi (cook/cooks).
  • Feminine nouns ending in ca change to che in the plural, as in amica/amiche (friend/friends) and mucca/mucche (cow/cows).

TIP: While gatto (cat) is considered masculine, it can be used in a feminine form when specifically describing female cats.


VOCABULARY
(from Duolingo)
i libri books
gli animali animals
i giornali newspapers
i cavalli horses
i pesci fish
i piatti plates
le gatte cats (fem.)
i gatti cats (masc.)
gli uccelli birds
le bottiglie bottles
i bicchieri glasses
i cuochi cooks
gli insetti insects
le mele apples
le torte cakes
le farfalle butterflies
le mucche cows
le banane bananas
i polli chickens
i biscotti cookies
gli elefanti elephants
le caramelle candies
le forchette forks
i cani dogs
i panini sandwiches

 

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