\r\n Try FluentU for FREE!\r\n <\/button>\r\n <\/p>\r\n<\/a>\r\n\r\n\nListen closely to the use of adjectives to get the hang of the difference placement makes. You can even use video flashcards to make your own word lists and to hear adjectives used in various contexts.<\/p>\n
It’s important to note that\u00a0s<\/strong>ome adjectives are irregular<\/strong> when they go before a noun, changing their form. We will discuss this later in the post.\u00a0<\/p>\nItalian Adjectives and Gender<\/h3>\n Italian shares another trait with a lot of Romance languages: nouns have genders.<\/strong><\/p>\nThis might seem like a complicated concept for English speakers. The basic idea is that there are masculine nouns and feminine nouns, and these determine the endings of certain words\u2014including adjectives.<\/p>\n
Masculine nouns usually end in -o<\/em> or -e<\/em><\/strong> and use the articles il\u00a0\/\u00a0lo<\/em>\u00a0(the) or un<\/em>\u00a0(a), with l’<\/em> being used for words that start with vowels.<\/p>\nWhen they are changed from singular to plural, masculine nouns end in an -i.<\/em> These use plural articles such as gli<\/em>\u00a0(for words beginning with vowels, z and s+consonants) and i<\/em> (for all other consonants).<\/p>\nHere are some examples of masculine nouns:<\/p>\n
the man \/ men\u00a0\u2014\u00a0l’uomo \/ gli uomini<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nthe sock\/s\u00a0\u2014\u00a0il calzino \/ i calzini<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nthe boot\/s\u00a0\u2014\u00a0lo stivale \/ gli stivali<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nFeminine nouns usually end in -a<\/em>,<\/em><\/strong> and use the articles la<\/em>\u00a0(the) or una<\/em>\u00a0(a).<\/p>\nWhen a feminine word is pluralized, the -a<\/em> turns into an -e<\/em> and uses the article le<\/em>.\u00a0Words beginning with vowels will still use\u00a0l’\u00a0<\/em>as their article.\u00a0<\/p>\nHere are some examples of feminine nouns:<\/p>\n
the woman \/ women\u00a0\u2014\u00a0la donna \/ le donne<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nthe bag\/s\u00a0\u2014\u00a0la borsa \/ le borse<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nthe shoe\/s\u00a0\u2014\u00a0la scarpa \/ le scarpe<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nIt might seem strange to study nouns when you are learning about adjectives, but it is very important.<\/p>\n
Adjectives in Italian must agree with the gender of the noun they are modifying.<\/strong> This means that adjectives change their form based on whether the word they are describing is masculine or feminine.<\/p>\nHere is a set of adjectives being used to describe masculine nouns:<\/p>\n
The tired<\/strong> man\u00a0\u2014\u00a0L’uomo stanco<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nThe new<\/strong> socks\u00a0\u2014\u00a0I nuovi <\/strong>calzini<\/em><\/p>\nThe yellow<\/strong>\u00a0boot\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Lo stivale\u00a0<\/em>giallo<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nNote that all of the adjectives used here have endings that agree with the endings of their nouns, consisting of -i<\/em> and -o<\/em> when applicable.<\/p>\nHere are those same adjectives applied to our feminine nouns:<\/p>\n
The tired<\/strong> woman\u00a0\u2014\u00a0La donna<\/em> stanca<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nThe new<\/strong> bag\u00a0\u2014\u00a0La<\/em> nuova<\/em><\/strong> borsa<\/em><\/p>\nThe yellow<\/strong> shoes\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Le<\/em> scarpe<\/em> gialle<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nNotice that these endings change to -a<\/em> or -e<\/em> depending on whether the noun is singular or plural.<\/p>\nWith some practice, you will catch on in no time!<\/p>\n
Irregular Italian Adjectives<\/h3>\n Some adjectives change their form when they go before a noun, making them irregular adjectives. This only occurs for four specific adjectives: grande<\/em> (big), buono<\/em> (good \/ well), santo<\/em> (holy) and bello<\/em> (handsome \/ beautiful).\u00a0<\/p>\nLike regular adjectives, these irregular four change based on the noun they describe, using four forms: plural \/ singular masculine and plural \/ singular feminine.<\/p>\n
In addition to these forms,\u00a0an\u00a0irregular adjective’s form also depends on whether the noun it modifies starts with a vowel or a consonant.<\/strong><\/p>\nIn addition, irregular adjectives take different articles than most adjectives:\u00a0dei<\/em>\u00a0for masculine and delle<\/em>\u00a0for feminine.<\/p>\nIt makes a lot more sense if you simply see it in action. Let’s take a look at the word buono:<\/em><\/p>\nMasculine Singular: good<\/strong> dog\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Un<\/strong> buon<\/strong> cane<\/em><\/p>\nMasculine Plural:good<\/strong> dogs\u00a0\u2014 Dei buoni<\/strong> cani<\/em><\/p>\nMasculine Singular (with s+consonant or z):good<\/strong> boot\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Un buon<\/strong> stivale<\/em><\/p>\nMasculine Plural (with s+consonant or z):good\u00a0<\/strong>boots\u00a0\u2014 Dei buoni<\/strong> stivali<\/em><\/p>\nFeminine Singular:good <\/strong>apple\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Una\u00a0buona<\/strong> mela<\/em><\/p>\nFeminine Plural:good\u00a0<\/strong>apples\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Delle<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>buone<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0mele\u00a0<\/em>(some good apples)<\/p>\nWhile the rest of the adjectives mostly follow these patterns, you can find specific charts outlining\u00a0the exact conjugation of irregular adjectives<\/a>.<\/p>\nSince there are so few of these irregular adjectives, they are relatively easy to study. Make sure that you know them all well!<\/p>\n
Predictive and Attributive Italian Adjectives<\/h3>\n There are two types of adjectives in Italian: predictive and attributive.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nFiguring out the difference is simple.<\/p>\n
Predictive adjectives use the verb essere<\/em>\u00a0(to be)<\/strong> to describe a noun:<\/p>\nThe bag is blue<\/strong> \u2014 La borsa\u00a0\u00e8 blu<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nAttributive adjectives are directly attached to the noun they are describing,<\/strong> such as with many of the earlier examples. Here is one again so you can see how this looks:<\/p>\nA pink<\/strong> apple \u2014 Una mela<\/strong> rosa<\/em><\/p>\nThis is all a matter of placement, so the forms are simple to identify. To make sure you have your predictive adjectives down right, practice the conjugation of\u00a0essere<\/em><\/a>.<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n125 Useful Italian Adjectives to Know<\/h2>\n Now that you know the basics of how Italian adjectives work, here is a list of 125 Italian adjectives that you can use to describe things in Italian!<\/p>\n
1. abbronzato <\/strong><\/em>\u2014\u00a0tanned<\/p>\nQuest’estate sono andata al mare tutti i giorni e adesso sono abbronzato<\/strong>.<\/em>2. abituato <\/strong><\/em>\u2014\u00a0accustomed, used to<\/p>\nNon \u00e8 abituata<\/strong> ad andare a letto cos\u00ec presto.<\/em>3. accattivante <\/strong><\/em>\u2014\u00a0captivating<\/p>\nQuell’attrice \u00e8 famosa per il suo sorriso accattivante<\/strong>.<\/em>4. adorabile<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0\u2014 adorable<\/p>\nTua figlia con quel vestito rosa \u00e8 adorabile<\/strong>.<\/em>5. affamato<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0\u2014 hungry<\/p>\nUno squalo affamato<\/strong> \u00e8 pericoloso.<\/em>6. allegro <\/strong><\/em>\u2014 cheerful<\/p>\nAlana \u00e8 sempre
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