How to form the plural of nouns in Italian? Let’s learn the rules!
Plural of nouns in Italian
In Italian there are three noun classes: O nouns, mostly masculine, like il libro, A nouns, mostly feminine, like la casa and E nouns, both masculine and feminine, like il padre and la madre. The plural is obtained by changing the ending of the singular form. The plural endings are only two: -i and -e. Look at the table:
SINGULAR | PLURAL | |
O > I | il libro | i libri |
A > E | la casa | le case |
E > I | il padre la madre | i padri le madri |
Actually, the rule is very simple. Let’s look at some examples of plural building!
Plural of nouns: O > I
Nouns ending with O are mostly masculine. The plural is formed by transforming the O into an I.
il biscotto | i biscotti | biscuit |
il panino | i panini | sandwich |
il piatto | i piatti | dish |
l’amico | gli amici | (male) friend |
il gatto | i gatti | cat |
l’albero | gli alberi | tree |
il monumento | i monumenti | monument |
il succo | i succhi | juice |
il vino | i vini | wine |
We’ve learnt here that in Italian there are some exceptions, like il problema. These are masculine words ending with A.
The plural of these nouns end with I:
il problema | i problemi | problem |
il turista | i turisti | tourist |
il papa | i papi | pope |
Plural of nouns: A > E
Nouns ending with A are mostly feminine. The plural is formed by transforming the A into a E.
la tazza | le tazze | cup, mug |
la spremuta | le spremute | fresh-squeezed juice |
la bottiglia | le bottiglie | bottle |
la birra | le birre | beer |
l’amica | le amiche | (female) friend |
la stella | le stelle | star |
la sera | le sere | evening |
la rivista | le riviste | magazine |
Plural of nouns: E > I
Nouns ending with E can be both feminine or masculine. Regardless of gender, the plural is formed by transforming the E into an I.
il bicchiere | i bicchieri | glass |
il ristorante | i ristoranti | restaurant |
il fiore | i fiori | flower |
il giornale | i giornali | newspaper |
la luce | le luci | light |
la volpe | le volpi | fox |
la nave | le navi | ship |
Unchangeable nouns
In some cases, nouns remain unchanged. Nouns remain unchanged, if they…
end with a consonant | il bar | i bar | café, coffee shop |
il film | i film | movie | |
end with a stressed vowel | il papà | i papà | dad |
la città | le città | city | |
are abbreviations | la foto (la fotografia) | le foto (le fotografie) | photo |
l’auto (l’automobile) | le auto (le automobili) | car |
One thought on “Plural of nouns”
i’m so sad that i didn’t explored this page before! so simple and understandable, i appreciate the work on this. buona giornata!