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Articolo definito
The Italian definite article indicates either a particular noun or, contrarily, the general sense of a noun.
Per esempio…
| Vedo i koala. | I see the koalas. | |
| L’auto è dietro la casa. | The car is behind the house. |
Characteristics of definite articles
- Used with countable and uncountable nouns
- Placed directly in front of a noun or an adjective + noun
- Agree with the noun in gender and number
- Contract with many prepositions
Italian definite articles
| Masculine | Feminine | |||
| singular | il, lo, l’ | la, l’ | ||
| plural | i, gli | le |
+ There are four singular definite articles, depending on the gender and first letter(s) of the noun that follows:
- Masculine: il
- Masculine + complex sound: lo
- Feminine: la
- Contracted (masc or fem + vowel): l’
+ There are three plural definite articles:
- Masculine: i
- Masculine + complex sound or vowel: gli
- Feminine: le
When definite articles follow certain prepositions, the words must contract – more about this in a future lesson.
Using definite articles
Italian definite articles are used similarly to their English counterpart, "the," to talk about specific, identified nouns.
Per esempio…
| La strada è bloccata. | The road is blocked. | |
| Ho visitato il museo. | I visited the museum. | |
| I nuovi libri sono fantastici. | The new books are great. |
However, there are many instances where a definite article is required in Italian but not English.
1) Multiple nouns
When there’s more than one noun, Italian requires a definite article in front of each one.
| Il cane e il gatto vanno d’accordo. | The dog and cat get along well. | |
| Ho comprato le penne e le matite che ti piacciono. | I bought the pens and pencils you like. |
2) General sense
Definite articles are used to talk about a noun or group of nouns in a general sense:
| L’acqua è essenziale per la vita. | Water is essential to life. | |
| Mi piacciono le cipolle ma non l’aglio. | I like onions but not garlic. | |
| Gli insegnanti lavorano molto. | Teachers work a lot. |
3) Topics and Issues
Abstractions, politics, school subjects, languages* – all need a definite article in Italian:
| I soldi non possono comprare la felicità . | Money can’t buy happiness. | |
| L’ecologia è un argomento importante. | Ecology is an important subject. | |
| Non mi piace la matematica. | I don’t like math. | |
| Sto imparando il greco. | I’m learning Greek. |
* Except after the verbs parlare, studiare, and insegnare, when the definite article is optional: Parlo greco / Parlo il greco.
4) Geography
Continents, countries, regions
| Voglio visitare l’Italia. | I want to visit Italy. | |
| Ho familiarità con l’Alsazia. | I’m familiar with Alsace. |
5) Possession
Several possessive constructions require the definite article in Italian.
a) In front of the owned noun in the possessive di construction
| I figli di Daniel | Daniel’s kids | |
| Il libro di mamma | Mom’s book |
b) With possessive adjectives and pronouns
| I miei genitori vivono a Mentone, e i tuoi? | My parents live in Menton, what about yours? | |
| Ecco la sua borsa, ma sto ancora cercando la mia. | Here’s his bag, but I’m still looking for mine. |
c) With parts of the body
The definite article is used instead of possessive adjectives with parts of the body.
| Mi sto lavando i capelli. | I’m washing my hair. | |
| Ti fa male la testa? | Does your head hurt? |
6) Time and Date
Some references to time and date need a definite article.
a) Specific dates
| È il 5 maggio. | It’s May 5. | |
| Lo visiteremo il 17 ottobre. | We’re going to visit it on October 17. |
b) Vague periods of time
| Li ho visti la scorsa settimana. | I saw them last week. | |
| Visiteremo Napoli il prossimo anno. | We’re going to visit Naples next year. |
c) Habitual actions with days of the week and times of day
| Cucino il venerdì. | I cook on Fridays. | |
| Non lavora la mattina. | He doesn’t work in the morning(s). |
However, one-time actions with days of the week or times of day do not take a definite article.
| Ho cucinato venerdì. | I cooked on Friday. | |
| Non lavora stamattina. | He’s not working this morning. |
7) Title and name
When talking about a person using a title and name, the title needs an article:
| Conosco il ministro Rossi. | I know Minister Rossi. | |
| La presidente Moretti è arrivata. | Chairwoman Moretti has arrived. |
However, when addressing a person, there’s no article:
| Salve, ministro Rossi. | Hello, Minister Rossi. | |
| Grazie, presidente Moretti. | Thank you, Chairwoman Moretti. |
8) Fare with professions
| Faccio lo scrittore. | I’m a writer. | |
| Vuole fare l’avvocato. | He wants to be a lawyer. |
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Ciao! I’m Laura K Lawless, creator, writer, editor, and CLO (Chief Lawless Officer) of this free online Italian learning site. Lawless Italian is an official Lawless Languages site.
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