Italian is a very creative language and that is why it is quite rich in compound nouns, especially when it comes to indicate objects. Compound nouns can be the result of different combinations of words belonging to different classes. Some combinations are quite productive, others include just a couple of examples. When it comes to forming the plural, there is no general rule. The plural form varies depending on the type of words that form the compound.
1) Noun + Noun / Adjective
This is the most productive group. Nouns can be combined with another noun or with an adjective.
“pesce” + “cane” → pescecane (dogfish shark) fish dog“madre” + “lingua” → madrelingua (mother tongue) mother tongue
“cassa” + “forte” → cassaforte (strongbox, safe) box strong
“terra” + “cotta” → terracotta (baked clay) earth baked
Plural Form
Noun + Noun: If the words of the compound belong to the same gender, only the second term forms the plural.
il cavolfiore (the cauliflower) → i cavolfiori (the cauliflowers)cavolo (cabbage) masculine + fiore (flower) masculine
If the words belong to different genders, only the first term forms its plural.
il pescespada (the swordfish) → i pescispada (the swordfish)pesce (fish) masculine + spada (sword) feminine
Noun + Adjective: Both terms usually change their endings in a compound noun when forming the plural.
la cassaforte (the strongbox) → le casseforti (the strongboxes)
2) Adjective + Noun / Adjective
“bianco” + “spino” → biancospino (hawthorn) white thorn
“alto” + “piano” → altopiano (plateau) high flat surface
“piano” + “forte” → pianoforte (piano) soft loud
Plural Form
Adjective + Noun: Generally, only the noun changes its ending.
il biancospino (the hawthorn) → i biancospini (the hawthorns)bianco (white) adjective + spino (thorn) noun
Adjective + Adjective: Only the second term usually changes its ending.
il pianoforte (the piano) → i pianoforti (the pianos)
3) Adverb + Verb / Noun
“bene” + “stare” → benestare (approval)well, good stay
“dopo” + “scuola” → doposcuola (after school activities) after school
Plural Form
Adverb + Verb: They generally do not change their endings in the plural form.
il benestare (the approval) → i benestare (the approvals)
Adverb + Noun: These compound nouns usually change their endings in the plural form, but some of the nouns belonging to this group do not change.
il soprannome (the nickname) → i soprannomi (the nicknames)sopra (over) adverb/preposition + nome (name) noun
il doposcuola (the after school activities) → i doposcuola ( the after school activities)
4) Verb + Noun / Verb
“lava” + “stoviglie” → lavastoviglie (dishwasher) to wash dishes
“aspira” + “polvere” → aspirapolvere (vacuum cleaner)to remove dustsomething using suction
“apri” + “bottiglie” → apribottiglie (bottle opener) to open bottles
“sali” + “scendi” → saliscendi (latch)to go up to go down
Plural Form
Nouns resulting from the combination of a verb and a noun are the trickiest ones when it comes to forming the plural. They act in different ways depending on the gender and quantity of the noun.
Verb + singular, masculine noun: Only the noun changes its ending.
il passaporto (the passport) → i passaporti (the passports)passa (to pass) verb + porto (harbor) noun
Verb + plural, masculine nouns: The compound does not change its form.
il portaombrelli (the umbrella stand) → i portaombrelli (the umbrella stands)
Verb + singular or plural feminine nouns: The compound does not change its form.
la lavastoviglie (the dishwasher) → le lavastoviglie (the dishwashers)
Verb + Verb: These compounds usually do not change in their plural form.
il saliscendi (the latch) → i saliscendi (the latches)
