Italian nouns
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The noun (nome, sostantivo) is the part of the speech indicating any abstract or concrete element.
Nouns are always declinable in gender and number.
The article has to agree in gender and number with the noun it refers to.
According to gender, we can identify four categories
Gender and ending | Italian | English |
---|---|---|
masculine in - o | l'albero | the tree |
masculine in - e | il bicchiere | the glass |
feminine in - a | la scarpa | the shoe |
feminine in - e | la stampante | the printer |
Italian nouns always have a gender (even animals and things)
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This distinction is useful to recognize the gender of Italian nouns
Grammatical gender | Italian | English | |
---|---|---|---|
Animated beings | natural | il nonno (maschile) | the grandfather (masculine) |
Inanimated beings | conventional | il giornale (maschile) | the newspaper (masculine) |
In general
Masculine | Feminine | Italian | English |
---|---|---|---|
-o | -a | nonno → nonna | grandfather → grandmother |
-e | -a | parrucchiere → parrucchiera | male hairdresser → female hairdresser |
A lot of nouns form their feminine form (or the masculine one) in an irregular way
Italian | English | |
---|---|---|
Two different words | fratello → sorella | brother → sister |
Same form + different article | l(o)' artista →l(a)'artista | male artist → female artist |
Same form + same article | (il) coniglio | rabbit |
Same root + different suffix | studente → studentessa | male student → female student |
Two different meanings | (il) caso → (la) casa | fate → house |
In general
Singular | Plural | Italian | English |
---|---|---|---|
-a | -e (feminine) | la ragazza → le ragazze | the girl → the girls |
-e | -i | il parrucchiere → i parrucchieri | the hairdresser → the hairdressers |
-i | -i | la crisi → le crisi | the crisis → the crises |
-o | -i | il tavolo → i tavoli | the table → the tables |
-u | -u | lo gnu → gli gnu | the gnu → the gnus |
-io | -i, -ii | l'orologio → gli orologi | the clock → the clocks |
Some nouns form their plural in an irregular way
Italian | English | |
---|---|---|
Gender changes | Il braccio → Le braccia | The arm → The arms |
Different endings | Il bue → I buoi | The ox → The oxen |
invariable nouns | La verità → Le verità | The truth → The truths |
Defective nouns | Il cemento | The cement |
Individual and collective nouns | Il gregge → Le greggi | The flock |
Countable and uncountable nouns | Dammi il burro → Dammi tre panetti di burro. | Give me the butter |
Overabundant nouns | Il fronte | The front / The line The forehead The fronts / The lines The foreheads |
In Italian we can use suffixes to add new meanings to the original word.
We can distinguish between four different classes of altered nouns:
Italian | English | |
---|---|---|
Diminutives | ponticello | little bridge |
Terms of endearment | orsacchiotto | teddy bear |
Augmentatives | viaggione | big travel |
Pejoratives | mostriciattolo | little ugly monster |
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Luisa is the best! Always enthusiastic and she makes the lessons fun and interesting. She's an expert teacher and my Italian has improved enormously.
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Daniela is the best teacher ever! I would recommend her to literally anyone that wants to learn Italian. She is kind, sweet, patient, has a great sense of humor and does her job very well and detailed. I have been taking lessons with her for over 2 years now and my Italian improved so much! She always sends you all the materials you need and anything you ask for, like reading materials, grammar exercises etc. Daniela is extremely positive and always comes very prepared and in a great mood. She even makes the hard and more difficult things to learn a fun process. What I liked a lot, is that she doesn’t only teach you the theory but takes her time to have many conversations with you, about all kinds of topics, so that you really get the confidence for fluent talking. She does her job with a lot of passion and dedication and there is literally no question about the Italian language that she cannot answer. I don’t think there is a teacher out there, that will give you so much of her knowledge, joy and time for such a convenient price. Highly recommend!!!
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The lesson answered all my expectations. The conversation was fluent. Olivia was very sensitive to my goals. I thank her for this lovely experience. to be continued… 12 weeks later, and I am so satisfied and grateful. The lessons are lively and fun. to be continued...
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Hi, my name is Alessia, I teach Italian to foreigners.
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Alessia is a goal-oriented and very professional teacher who I can recommend highly. She targets a students weak points allowing one to improve rapidly. We worked with various mediums e.g. documentaries, textbooks, written and verbal exercises, all specifically chosen to meet the needs and interests of the student.
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Paul is a well-structrured, certified and experienced teacher. He is passionate about teaching English and is a very good choice as a teacher.
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Hello, everybody ! My name is Elena. I’m a native Italian speaker, I’m 49 years old and live in Turin. I am a certified CEDILS teacher, I graduated in Foreign Languages and Literature in Milan and have been working as a teacher of Italian for more than 10 years. I speak English and German. I attended specialization courses for Italian L2 teachers and I am interviewer for C1 PLIDA exam.
Are you seeking a friendly and dynamic study environment ? I got what you need. I am looking forward to being in touch with new students and organize pleasant, interesting and fruitful courses.
Do you wish to learn or improve your Italian to speak with your parents or friends? Do you need Italian for work or study ? Do you simply love Italian language and culture ? Do you need to improve your writing skills ?
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I offer 1-to-1 or 2-to-1 tuition, general Italian courses (grammar, conversation, listening, reading and writing), preparation to Italian examinations (all levels, also Italian for residence permit) and Italian and culture courses.
Grammar, vocabulary exercises, reading articles and magazines and talking together are all tools to feel at ease with the Italian language and then be able to practice it.
I have worked with children, adolescents and adults for all levels of Italian, from beginner to advanced. I have experience in preparing students to international certification (CILS, PLIDA). I was an A2/B1 Telc examiner.
Learning Italian can be closely related to culture, literature, music, sport and any other interest of my students.
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Elena is absolutely fantastic and extremely helpful in preparing me at short notice for a PLIDA B2 exam. Great teacher, lovely person and I'd highly reccommend her to anyone in need of suport in learning italian.
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I graduated from university majoring in Linguistic Mediation and in Modern Languages and then I specialized in the teaching of Italian as a second language, attending a one-year post-graduate course devoted to this and receiving excellent grades (FILIS: Formatori Interculturali di Lingua Italiana per Stranieri). I also teach in the Italian public schools.
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I just had my first Italian lesson with Mojra and it was great. She is a very enthusiastic and happy person and seemed to really care about helping me to improve my Italian. Although her English is very good, she was quite strict about making me speak almost only in Italian during the entire lesson. My Italian is at an A2 (low intermediate) level but with seemingly infinite patience and useful hints, Mojra helped me to ask my questions in Italian and I felt my confidence grow as the lesson progressed. I asked for help on knowing when I should use the dreaded subjunctive in Italian (congiuntivo). Mojra had some interesting material on the subject and some exercises that both helped me to practice and, at the same time, taught me some interesting things about Italy. We laughed a lot and I was quite surprised to find that I had been speaking almost entirely in Italian for an hour. The time flew past. I think Mojra is an excellent teacher. You should try a lesson with her.
Mojra G.Thank you very much for your words Abner! You are a very diligent student, continua così!
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Hello my name is Lucia and I am a native Italian speaker.
I have a degree as an interpreter for English and French so I know how hard it may be to learn a foreign language. I work as a free-lance interpreter and private English and French teacher. I have a strong passion for languages which I have been studying for many years. I am studying Spanish now and always trying to improve my English and French knowledge. I am a friendly person and my lessons mainly focus on conversation. As a teacher I am very patient and I always propose tailor-made lessons with respect to your needs. I am really enthusiastic about being a teacher because this activity allows you to share your culture and habits with foreign people. Learning a language is also learning a new culture.
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Lucia, in a friendly and motivating manner, manages to get us, as beginners to Italian, to "speak". New vocabulary and grammar basics are regularly incorporated. Each lesson is different, fun and effective as Lucia is not only a very experienced teacher but also embodies the love for Italy and her language. We are happy to have “found” them, Rita and Connie
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Hi there, I’m Letizia!
I've always had a great passion for languages and have made it my life's work.
I have been teaching English, Spanish and Italian as second languages (L2) to international students for 7 years now. I mainly work with teenagers and adults, but I also have experience with school-age children.
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The classes with Letizia are very helpful. Very good mix of theory and exercises. I can highly recommend Letizia!
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Hello Everybody
My name is Luisa and I teach Italian for foreign students, English, French and German for Italian students
Since 1994, I have dedicated myself to translating and teaching thanks to my travels, abroad studies, foreign reading and writing. I provide fun and customized lessons based on the student's goals. I also triy to minimize English speaking during the lessons. I give homework exercises, and my lessons are intermixed with grammar, conversation, customs and traditions. My goal is to make certain that each student finds learning Italian exciting.
I am available for any explanations also via e mail
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Luisa is pleasant and very focused, I purchased 12 lessons after the first lesson with Luisa because I felt confident that she will teach me Italian at a level I’m able to follow with. I can’t wait to get stuck on and learn! :)
Luisa A.Thank you Julian !!! Thank you so much !!
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Hello, everybody ! My name is Elena. I’m a native Italian speaker, I’m 49 years old and live in Turin. I am a certified CEDILS teacher, I graduated in Foreign Languages and Literature in Milan and have been working as a teacher of Italian for more than 10 years. I speak English and German. I attended specialization courses for Italian L2 teachers and I am interviewer for C1 PLIDA exam.
Are you seeking a friendly and dynamic study environment ? I got what you need. I am looking forward to being in touch with new students and organize pleasant, interesting and fruitful courses.
Do you wish to learn or improve your Italian to speak with your parents or friends? Do you need Italian for work or study ? Do you simply love Italian language and culture ? Do you need to improve your writing skills ?
My classes are tailored on your needs and considering your level of knowledge, I create a proper course plan. Classes focus on language and on the possibility for you to improve your ability to speak and understand Italian in your daily life or in work.
I offer 1-to-1 or 2-to-1 tuition, general Italian courses (grammar, conversation, listening, reading and writing), preparation to Italian examinations (all levels, also Italian for residence permit) and Italian and culture courses.
Grammar, vocabulary exercises, reading articles and magazines and talking together are all tools to feel at ease with the Italian language and then be able to practice it.
I have worked with children, adolescents and adults for all levels of Italian, from beginner to advanced. I have experience in preparing students to international certification (CILS, PLIDA). I was an A2/B1 Telc examiner.
Learning Italian can be closely related to culture, literature, music, sport and any other interest of my students.
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I had a trial class with Elena, and was very satisfied with the professionalism and all the teaching experience that she possesses. Will definitely continue to have classes with her.
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Hello my name is Lucia and I am a native Italian speaker.
I have a degree as an interpreter for English and French so I know how hard it may be to learn a foreign language. I work as a free-lance interpreter and private English and French teacher. I have a strong passion for languages which I have been studying for many years. I am studying Spanish now and always trying to improve my English and French knowledge. I am a friendly person and my lessons mainly focus on conversation. As a teacher I am very patient and I always propose tailor-made lessons with respect to your needs. I am really enthusiastic about being a teacher because this activity allows you to share your culture and habits with foreign people. Learning a language is also learning a new culture.
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Lucia is wonderful! I have no experience with Italian and it has thus far been a lovely fun process. She is easy to schedule with. Sends documents with notes/teaching points from each of our lessons immediately and tailors lesson to exactly my level/experience. Would highly recommend!
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Hello, everybody ! My name is Elena. I’m a native Italian speaker, I’m 49 years old and live in Turin. I am a certified CEDILS teacher, I graduated in Foreign Languages and Literature in Milan and have been working as a teacher of Italian for more than 10 years. I speak English and German. I attended specialization courses for Italian L2 teachers and I am interviewer for C1 PLIDA exam.
Are you seeking a friendly and dynamic study environment ? I got what you need. I am looking forward to being in touch with new students and organize pleasant, interesting and fruitful courses.
Do you wish to learn or improve your Italian to speak with your parents or friends? Do you need Italian for work or study ? Do you simply love Italian language and culture ? Do you need to improve your writing skills ?
My classes are tailored on your needs and considering your level of knowledge, I create a proper course plan. Classes focus on language and on the possibility for you to improve your ability to speak and understand Italian in your daily life or in work.
I offer 1-to-1 or 2-to-1 tuition, general Italian courses (grammar, conversation, listening, reading and writing), preparation to Italian examinations (all levels, also Italian for residence permit) and Italian and culture courses.
Grammar, vocabulary exercises, reading articles and magazines and talking together are all tools to feel at ease with the Italian language and then be able to practice it.
I have worked with children, adolescents and adults for all levels of Italian, from beginner to advanced. I have experience in preparing students to international certification (CILS, PLIDA). I was an A2/B1 Telc examiner.
Learning Italian can be closely related to culture, literature, music, sport and any other interest of my students.
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Elena is an incredible teacher. She has great methodology and knowledge to assist the student in his needs. She helps you to see your potential and gives feedback helping you to improve your knowledge of the language. Thanks Elena for you support in this process.
Elena F.Thanks so much ! It is a pleasure to work with you, you are a very good and very very nice student.
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