Don’t let all this technical language overwhelm you! You already use and differentiate between these concepts in English without even realizing it.
When we talk about Articles, we are referring to the words that mean:
◉ ‘the’
◉ ‘a’ or ‘an’
As an English speaker, you instinctively know when to use either. But did you know that they are categorized in the following ways?
1️⃣ The Definite Article ‘THE’ refers to a specific noun, it assumes we know what exact thing we are talking about.
The apple, the men, the meal, the houses
2️⃣ The Indefinite Article ‘A/AN’ refers to a generic noun, a non-specific item or member within a group of the same type.
An apple, a man, a meal, a house
Italian makes the same distinction, with articles equivalent to ‘the’ and ‘a’. However, Italian really likes to mix things up…
For one, Italian Articles have to match the gender of the noun they belong to, so we have Masculine and Feminine forms of both ‘the’ and ‘a’. This is why it’s important to know the gender of a noun.
Secondly, the Italian Definite Article also has to match the noun in number. That is, whether it’s singular or plural. This is similar to how we differentiate between ‘this-these’ and ‘that-those’ in English. We’ll address the plural articles a little bit later on.
Lastly, within the Masculine and Feminine Articles there are different forms of the Article depending on the sound of the following word.
If this all sounds confusing, don’t worry! It will all make a lot more sense once you see it laid out.
The Italian Definite Articles
Masculine Definite Articles in Italian
Which one do we use and when?
IL is used before simple consonant sounds
il libro ➙ the book
il ragazzo ➙ the boy
il fiore ➙ the flower
L’ is used when the following word starts with a vowel
l’uomo ➙ the man
l’animale ➙ the animale
l’attore ➙ the actor
LO is used before a strong consonant sound: Z and S+CONSONANT (ST-, SP-, SF-, SG-, SC-, SL-, SV-, SB-, SN-, SM-
lo zaino ➙ the backpack
lo studente ➙ the student
lo scemo ➙ the fool
Feminine Definite Articles in Italian
Which one do we use and when?
LA is used before a word starting with any consonant
la casa ➙ the house
la stazione ➙ the station
la bottiglia ➙ the bottle
L’ is used when the following word starts with a vowel
l’idea ➙ the idea
l’anima ➙ the soul
l’attrice ➙ the actress
The Indefinite Articles in Italian
Masculine Indefinite Articles in Italian
Which one do we use and when?
UN is used when the following word starts with a simple consonant sound or a vowel
un libro ➙ a book
un ragazzo ➙ a boy
un uomo ➙ a man
un animale ➙ an animal
UNO is used before a strong consonant sound: Z and S+CONSONANT
uno zaino ➙ a backpack
uno studente ➙ a student
uno scemo ➙ a fool
Feminine Indefinite Articles in Italian
Which one do we use and when?
UNA is used before a word starting with any consonant
una casa ➙ a house
una stazione ➙ a station
una bottiglia ➙ a bottle
UN’ is used when the following word starts with a vowel
un’idea ➙ an idea
un’anima ➙ a soul
un’attrice ➙ an actress