Masculine and feminine in Italian
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The Italian language distinguishes two genders: masculine and feminine.
Be careful! Italian nouns always have a gender (even animals and things).
According to gender, we can identify four categories
masculine in -o
masculine in -e
feminine in -a
feminine in -e
Masculine | Italian | English |
---|---|---|
-o | albero | tree |
-e | fiore | flower |
Feminine | Italian | English |
---|---|---|
-a | bottiglia | bottle |
-e | stazione | station |
Here some tricks to recognize the gender of nouns ending in -e:
masculine: -ore, -ale, -ile
feminine: -ione, -udine, -ice
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The grammatical gender follows the natural one
The grammatical gender is just a language convention
masculine: tavolo, cappotto
table, coat
feminine: fiaba, maglia
fairy tale, shirt
Here some tricks to recognize the gender of inanimated beings
Masculine | Feminine | |
---|---|---|
Categories | trees chemical elements months, days of the week seas, mountains, lakes, rivers | fruits |
Endings | -o, -consonant (foreign origine) | -a, - i, -tà, -tù |
A lot of Italian nouns, in particular nouns of animated beings, can have both masculine and feminine forms.
In general, Italian nouns create the feminine form (or the masculine one) by editing their ending
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
Irregularities | Features | Italian | English |
---|---|---|---|
complete irregularity | two different words | fratello → sorella | brother → sister |
common gender | same form + different article | l(o)' artista →l(a)'artista | male artist → female artist |
promiscuous gender | same form + same article | (il) coniglio | rabbit |
suffix changing | same root + different suffix | studente → studentessa | male student → female student |
change of meaning | two different meanings | (il) caso → (la) casa | fate → house |
These nouns have two differents words for each gender
genero → nuora
son-in-law → daughter-in-law
dio → dea
god → goddess
These nouns (professions, jobs...) have the same form both for masculine and feminine. Just the article can distinguish the two genders.
(il) cantante → (la) cantante
male singer → female singer
(il) nipote → (la) nipote
nephew/grandson →niece/granddaughter
These nouns have just one form for both genders. Even the article is the same.
(la) vittima
victim
(il) medico
doctor
That works especially with nouns referring to animals. If you want to indicate the female animal, you have to specify it.
(il) leopardo → (il) leopardo femmina
male leopard → female leopard
(la) zebra→ (la) zebra maschio
female zebra → male zebra
The only exception are gatto→gatta (male cat → female cat) and cane → cagna (male dog → female dog)
These nouns keep their root but they change the suffix in the following way: -tore → -trice, -e → -essa, -a → -essa
attore → attrice
actor → actress
professore → professoressa
male teacher → female teacher
poeta → poetessa
poet → poetess
These nouns have a different meaning in masculine and feminine forms
(il) buco → (la) buca
hole → pit
(il) baleno → (la) balena
flash → whale
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Hi there! My name is Era Jane Castillo. You can call me Teacher Jane. I live in the Philippines. I graduated from Holy Cross College of Calinan, Inc. with the degree of Bachelor of Elementary Education Generalist. I am also a Licensed Professional Teacher. I have acquired a TEFL certificate.
I have been a teacher for 4 years in a school-based. I am teaching both kids and adults. I am friendly and outgoing person. Let me be your English and Filipino Instructor here at colanguage. I know that learning a new language is not easy. It could be full of struggles. You will need a lot of practice too.
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Era Jane has a very friendly personality and is a great and very experienced Tagalog teacher. She prepares the lessons very carefully, focusing on all relevant aspects such as conversation, grammar, and vocabulary. I am very much looking forward to continuing the lessons with her and to become more proficient in the language.
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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 was friendly and encouraging and gave me good advice about preparing for my Italian language exam. I am looking forward to more lessons with her :)
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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 the best! Always enthusiastic and she makes the lessons fun and interesting. She's an expert teacher and my Italian has improved enormously.
Luisa A.Dear Janice thank you !!!! thank you so much !!!
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Maria has experience in teaching spanish lessons and is very well structured. I really recommend her to everybody.
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
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Hi, guys! My name is Lucia and I would like to invite you to learn Italian with me.
I am both a native speaker and a QUALIFIED teacher, as I hold a post-graduate degree in “Teaching Italian as a second language” and a national certification as teacher of Italian to not-native speaking.
My teaching method is COMMUNICATION-oriented and involves also the study of Italian culture and grammar. Indeed, as it happens in your mother language, the knowledge of spare words is not enough to get able to speak (i.e. INTERACT!) properly and conveniently.
I’ll prepare for you all teaching materials, tailoring lessons to your needs and interests, taking advantage from both the huge number of textbooks I hold and my creativity!
I offer lessons for all levels, from absolute beginners to advanced, as well as support in preparation to certification exams (I am also qualified ad examiner for the oral part of CELI).
Do not hesitate to get in contact with me to find a suitable time-slot for your trial lesson!
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Lucia is wonderful! She speaks clearly, is encouraging and engaging. The material she provides is relevant and makes learning fun!
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Hi everyone!
My name is Daniela, I am Italian and I come from a small town in Sicily, Southern Italy. I am a qualified Italian language teacher and a CELI examiner! I work in two language schools teaching Italian and I also teach English at school.
I love foreign languages, translating, reading and listening to music. Are you ready to start your language learning path with me? We are going to learn many things and to talk a lot, if you allow me to! Don’t worry if you’ve never studied the language before: everyone can attend my classes – from beginner to advanced students. You just need passion for what you're going to do and... a good Internet connection. Materials are provided by me!
See you online!
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Daniela is a great teacher, she is helping me with my Italian. The lessons always fly by because it it so easy to talk with her. She makes you feel very at ease and has a great way of keeping the conversation going, while in the meantime keeping an eye on explaining grammatical things and making sure you improve your vocabulary each time. Therefore the lessons have a nice balance between being very enjoyable as well as informative, which makes the learning process proceed at a very consistent pace. Definitely can recommend Daniela!
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Ciao! My name is Mauro, I am native Italian from Calabria! I am a very passionate teacher, I love to share my language and my knowledge about Italy, and its culture, films, music, literature, arts, food!!! I firmly believe that learning is based on trust between teacher and student, and the first objective of my classes is to individuate student's objectives and preferences. My teaching methodology is integrated: I think that it is important to work on all of linguistic abilities: oral and writing comprehension and production. I also think that lessons must be as much as fun as possible, and I use a lot of authentic material: songs, films, cooking recipes, newspapers, advertising and so on...
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So far, I have studied with Mauro four times a week for a month. As a retired university professor, I find Mauro to be a thoughtful and deliberate teacher of Italian as a second language. He exercises care in preparing lessons and yet remains flexible to take opportunity of teachable moments. I highly recommend Mauro to anyone who is serious about learning Italian. Bravo Mauro! I look forward to continuing my studies with you.
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Dear student, my name is Domingo and I am an Italian teacher. 2 short words about me:
After classical studies, I graduated in Italian language and literature. Then I obtained the Cedils certificate as a teacher of Italian for foreigners.
What kind of teacher am I? How can I help you?
Well, I can help you who already know Italian, B1, B2, C1, C2, but you want to deepen the Italian culture, you love poetry, music or maybe you want to discover Italian cinema, or you simply want to improve your command in this tongue.
You who study in Italy, you have to deal with subjects such as history, literature, philosophy, sociology, and you want to deepen some words or concepts in Italian and you want coaching, a valid help.
To you professional, who know Italian but need cultural support to achieve your goals.
I believe that teaching is an exchange, where the teacher is the first to learn. I believe that a language is best learned with emotional involvement, in a relaxed and friendly environment, to allow for greater assimilation into long-term memory. By the word emotional, I mean the pleasure of doing something, of getting involved and having fun. So my dear students, I hope to meet you soon to discover Italian together !!!
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Very good lessons, professional and interesting. Also, very tailored made approach to teaching. Highly recommended A+++++
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Hi everyone!
My name is Daniela, I am Italian and I come from a small town in Sicily, Southern Italy. I am a qualified Italian language teacher and a CELI examiner! I work in two language schools teaching Italian and I also teach English at school.
I love foreign languages, translating, reading and listening to music. Are you ready to start your language learning path with me? We are going to learn many things and to talk a lot, if you allow me to! Don’t worry if you’ve never studied the language before: everyone can attend my classes – from beginner to advanced students. You just need passion for what you're going to do and... a good Internet connection. Materials are provided by me!
See you online!
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Fabulous teacher. Very clear, very encouraging and very helpful. Also very flexible and accommodating. Cannot recommend Daniela highly enough.
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Hi everyone!
My name is Daniela, I am Italian and I come from a small town in Sicily, Southern Italy. I am a qualified Italian language teacher and a CELI examiner! I work in two language schools teaching Italian and I also teach English at school.
I love foreign languages, translating, reading and listening to music. Are you ready to start your language learning path with me? We are going to learn many things and to talk a lot, if you allow me to! Don’t worry if you’ve never studied the language before: everyone can attend my classes – from beginner to advanced students. You just need passion for what you're going to do and... a good Internet connection. Materials are provided by me!
See you online!
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Daniela is a fantastic teacher: competent and kind and attentive to the needs of the student. You learn a lot due to the lesson and the abundant learning material. Moreover you learn and have fun at the same time.
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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 a really nice teacher with a lovely personality. She makes you feel very comfortable and will tailor the lessons for you. Thank you Luisa.
Luisa A.Dear Veronica, thank you, thank you so much !! :-))
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I'm a Italian/German bilingual teacher form Florence!
I offer lessons for beginners as well as for advanced speakers. I carry out different kinds of lessons: I could help you for example to prepare for a test, for your trip to Italy or for more advanced needs.
The lessons are focused on improving listening/comprehension skills as well as reading, writing, speaking and grammar.
If you want to know more about my methods, just book a trial lesson! It's free! I hope to see you soon!
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Niccolò has a pleasant way of teaching. He responds well to questions or comments from our group, while he knows how to follow the structure of the lesson. He carries out his lessons calmly, with interest and with humor.
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Hi, guys! My name is Lucia and I would like to invite you to learn Italian with me.
I am both a native speaker and a QUALIFIED teacher, as I hold a post-graduate degree in “Teaching Italian as a second language” and a national certification as teacher of Italian to not-native speaking.
My teaching method is COMMUNICATION-oriented and involves also the study of Italian culture and grammar. Indeed, as it happens in your mother language, the knowledge of spare words is not enough to get able to speak (i.e. INTERACT!) properly and conveniently.
I’ll prepare for you all teaching materials, tailoring lessons to your needs and interests, taking advantage from both the huge number of textbooks I hold and my creativity!
I offer lessons for all levels, from absolute beginners to advanced, as well as support in preparation to certification exams (I am also qualified ad examiner for the oral part of CELI).
Do not hesitate to get in contact with me to find a suitable time-slot for your trial lesson!
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I highly recommend Lucia, she is an amazing teacher, very pedagogical and explains all the rules in a very comprehensible manner. The program/book she uses is great, words are easy to remember and the exercises are interesting and interactive. 5 out of 5!
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Hello, my name is Francesca.
I am qualified Italian teacher.
I love teaching and my lessons are always tailored on your goals. During the first lesson, we will identify what you want to learn or to improve and I will design your lessons.
My approach is largely conversational: that is role-plays, informal conversation or other activites to help you. I welcome beginners right up to proficient speakers.
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Had my trial class with Francesca. She creates a very inviting atmosphere for a pleasant communication despite the language challenges. Although it was just an introductory class, I have already learned a few things.. Going to continue my studies with Francesca !
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Hi everyone!
My name is Daniela, I am Italian and I come from a small town in Sicily, Southern Italy. I am a qualified Italian language teacher and a CELI examiner! I work in two language schools teaching Italian and I also teach English at school.
I love foreign languages, translating, reading and listening to music. Are you ready to start your language learning path with me? We are going to learn many things and to talk a lot, if you allow me to! Don’t worry if you’ve never studied the language before: everyone can attend my classes – from beginner to advanced students. You just need passion for what you're going to do and... a good Internet connection. Materials are provided by me!
See you online!
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Thank you for putting up with all my mistakes today! We had plenty of conversation practice although the listening we did was quite tough but very useful .
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