Plurals in English are typically formed by adding an –s or –es to the end of a noun. Italian, on the other hand, forms the plural by changing the last vowel sound. The sound it changes to will depend on the final vowel sound it has in the singular, and, again, this pattern is mostly consistent with the gender of the noun.
Italian Nouns that End in -O
Nouns that end in -O in the singular are almost always Masculine. These nouns change the ending to -I in the plural.
Important exception! ⭐
The noun UOMO (man) has an irregular plural: UOMINI
But, it’s irregular in English too! >> One man, two men, not two *mans!
Italian Nouns that End in -A
Nouns that end in -A are usually Feminine. Feminine nouns that end in -A change the ending to -E in the plural.
Italian Nouns that End in -E
Nouns that end in -E in the singular can either be Masculine or Feminine. These nouns change the ending to -I in the plural.
Italian Nouns that End in -EMA
There are many Italian words that end in -EMA. Many of these words are of Greek origin and are classified as Masculine nouns. They follow a special pattern for plurals where the final -A becomes an -I. These words can easily confuse you after everything that we’ve already learned, so it’s best to just learn by memory which nouns follow this pattern, such as the three listed below.
How to Form Plural Articles in Italian
Remember how we said that the Definite Articles have to agree with the noun in both gender and number? Well, that means that when the ‘thing’ we are talking about is more than one, then the Definite Article (‘the’) has to be in the plural form too.
The following table lays out the different forms of the Masculine and Feminine Definite Articles in the singular form that we have already learned and their equivalent plural forms.
THE (PLURAL)
Masculine Plurals in Italian
IL > I
L' > GLI
LO > GLI
Feminine Plurals in Italian
LA > LE
L' > LE
Be careful of those Feminine nouns that end in -E in the singular as they can throw you off and are not to be confused for Masculine nouns in the plural.