Indefinite Article

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Articolo indefinito

The aptly named indefinite article indicates an unspecific or unidentified noun.

Per esempio…

Vedo una gatta e un cane.		I see a cat and a dog.
Ha un’idea.		He has an idea.

Characteristics of indefinite articles

1. Used with countable nouns (as opposed to uncountable nouns like money and water)
2. Placed directly in front of a noun or an adjective + noun
3. Agree with the noun in gender and number

Italian indefinite articles

		Masculine		Feminine
a, an, one		un, uno		una, un’
some		dei, degli		delle

+ There are two singular articles for each gender, each of which can mean a, an, or one:

Masculine

Un is the normal masculine singular indefinite article.

It changes to uno in front of a noun beginning with a complex sound.

Feminine

Una is the normal feminine singular indefinite article.

It contracts to un’ in front of a vowel.

  Note that all of the above rules also apply to the number "one."

+ There are three plural indefinite articles, all equivalent to "some":

1.	Masculine plural of un:	dei
2.	Masculine plural of uno:	degli
3.	Feminine plural:	delle

 Many Italian grammars say that there is no plural indefinite article, or that you just use the partitive when you need a plural. While the plural forms of the indefinite and partitive articles are indeed identical, there is a difference between them – see Partitive articles.

  The Italian indefinite article is not always used when talking about a person’s profession with essere (to be) …

Nico è autore. Nico è un autore.		He’s an author.
Sono insegnante. Sono un insegnante.		I’m a teacher.

It’s a bit more common in northern Italy and in writing, but otherwise, it’s correct with and without.

However, it is required when modified by an adjective or other descriptor:

Nico è un autore famoso.		He’s a famous author.
Sono un insegnante di scuola elementare.		I’m a grade school teacher.

 Related lessons

• Numbers
• Definite article
• Partitive articles
• Complex sounds
   

 En español

• Artículo indefinido
   

 En français

• Article indéfini
   

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