Italian and English differ in their usage of adjectives. Italian descriptive adjectives are usually placed after the noun they modify, and with which they agree in gender and number.
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COMMON ITALIAN ADJECTIVES ENDING IN -O | |
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allegro |
cheerful, happy |
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buono |
good, kind |
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cattivo |
bad, wicked |
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freddo |
cold |
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grasso |
fat |
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leggero |
light |
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nuovo |
new |
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pieno |
full |
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stretto |
narrow |
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timido |
timid, shy |
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ENDINGS OF -O ADJECTIVES | |
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SINGULAR |
PLURAL |
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il gatto nero (the black cat, masculine) |
i gatti neri (the black cats, masculine) |
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la gatta nera (the black cat, feminine) |
le gatte nere (the black cats, feminine) |
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il ragazzo cattivo (the bad boy) |
i ragazzi cattivi (the bad boys) |
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la ragazza cattiva (the bad girl) |
le ragazze cattive (the bad girls) |
Although the majority of Italian adjectives have four forms (as in italiano, italiana, italiani, italiane) there are exceptions. Not all Italian adjectives have a singular form ending in -o. There are a number of adjectives that end in -e. The singular ending -e changes to -i in the plural, whether the noun is masculine or feminine.
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ENDINGS OF -E ADJECTIVES | |
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SINGULAR |
PLURAL |
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il ragazzo triste (the sad boy) |
i ragazzi tristi(the sad boys) |
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la ragazza triste (the sad girl) |
le ragazze tristi (the sad girls) |
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ITALIAN ADJECTIVES ENDING IN -E | |
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abile |
able |
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difficile |
difficult |
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felice |
happy |
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forte |
strong |
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grande |
big, large, great |
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importante |
important |
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intelligente |
intelligent |
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interessante |
interesting |
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triste |
sad |
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veloce |
fast, speedy |
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FORMING PLURAL ADJECTIVES | |||
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SINGULAR ENDING |
PLURAL ENDING |
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-ca |
-che |
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-cia |
-ce |
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-cio |
-ci |
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-co |
-chi |
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-ga |
-ghe |
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-gia |
-ge |
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-gio |
-gi |
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-glia |
-glie |
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-glio |
-gli |
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-go |
-ghi |
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-scia |
-sce |
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-scio |
-sci |
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