Noun number: singular and plural

How the plural is formed: regular rules, special cases (-ca/-ga, -io, -co/-go) and invariable nouns.

First page · how the plural is formed

From singular to plural

: Number tells us whether we are talking about one thing (singular) or more things (plural). In Italian the plural is formed by changing the final vowel of the noun, not by adding -s as in many other languages.

Regola base

Most nouns follow three regular rules: masculine nouns in -o form the plural in -i, feminine nouns in -a form it in -e, and nouns in -e (masculine or feminine) form it in -i.

libro → libricasa → casecane → canichiave → chiavi

Casi di suono

Some nouns have a special plural for reasons of sound: nouns in -ca and -ga add an -h- to keep the hard sound (amica → amiche); nouns in -io with an unstressed i lose one i (studio → studi).

amica → amicheriga → righestudio → studifiglio → figli

Forming the plural
Il nome finisce in...	Al plurale diventa...	Esempi
Singolare	Plurale	Esempi
-o (maschile)	-i	libro → libri, gatto → gatti, tavolo → tavoli
-a (femminile)	-e	casa → case, penna → penne, scuola → scuole
-a (maschile)	-i	problema → problemi, poeta → poeti, tema → temi
-e (masch. o femm.)	-i	cane → cani, chiave → chiavi, fiore → fiori
-io (i non accentata)	-i (una sola)	studio → studi, figlio → figli, esempio → esempi
-ca / -ga	-che / -ghe	amica → amiche, riga → righe, barca → barche
accento finale, stranieri, abbreviati	invariabile	città → città, film → film, foto → foto

Invariable nouns never change: they have the same form in the singular and the plural. Invariable are nouns stressed on the last vowel (città, caffè), foreign nouns (bar, film, sport), shortened ones (foto, moto, bici) and monosyllables (re, gru).

Il trucco dei nomi invariabili

With invariable nouns it is the article or the number that tells whether they are singular or plural: la città → le città, il caffè → i caffè.

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