Melody Darling
Articles
in Italian grammar
un, una, il, lo, la, del, della...

In Italian grammar, articles are divided mainly into three categories: definite, indefinite andpartitve.

However, within these categories, there are variations based on gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural).

The choice between definite articles il and lo for masculine nouns and between la and l' for feminine nouns is based mainly on the sound that follows.

Furthermore, definite articles often contract with prepositions to form new combinations, known as contractions.

Definite Articles
'the' in English
Masculine / singular
il
Used before most consonants
il ragazzo
the boy
lo
Used before any of:
  • S followed by a consonant
  • z, gn, ps, or x
lo studente
the student
l'
Used before a vowel
l'amico
the friend
Masculine / Plural
i
Used before most consonants
i ragazzi
the boys
gli
Used before any of:
  • S followed by a consonant
  • z, gn, ps, or x
gli studenti
the students
Feminine / Singular
la
Used before most consonants
la ragazza
the girl
l'
Used before a vowel
l'amica
the friend
Feminine / Plural
le
Used with all feminine plural nouns
le ragazze
the girls
Indefinite Articles
'a' or 'an' in English
Masculine / Singular
un
Used before most consonants
un ragazzo
a boy
uno
Used before any of:
  • S followed by a consonant
  • z, gn, ps, or x
uno studente
a student
Feminine / Singular
una
Used before most consonants
una ragazza
a girl
un'
Used before a vowel
un'amica
a friend
Plural
Indefinite articles don’t have a plural form in Italian, though partitve articles can express the idea of 'some'.
Partitive Articles
some or any in English
Masculine / Singular
del
di + il
Used before most consonants
del pane
some bread
dell'
di + l'
Used before a vowel
dell' olio
some oil
dello
di + lo
Used before any of:
  • S followed by a consonant
  • z, gn, y, or x
  • i + a vowel
dello spazio
some space
Masculine / Plural
dei
di + i
Used before a consonant
dei libri
some books
degli
di + gli
Used before any of:
  • a vowel
  • S followed by a consonant
  • z, gn, pn, ps, y, or x
  • i + a vowel
degli amici
some friends
Feminine / Singular
della
di + la
Used before any of:
  • a consonant
  • i + a vowel
della carota
some carrot
dell'
di + l'
Used before a vowel
dell'acqua
some water
Feminine / Plural
delle
di + le
Used before any of:
  • a consonant
  • a vowel
  • i + a vowel
delle amiche
some friends (girlfriends)