When do you use lo instead of il in Italian?

Use lo before a masculine singular word that starts with s + consonant, z, gn, ps, x, or y: lo studente, lo zio, lo gnomo, lo psicologo, lo yogurt. Before a vowel, lo becomes l': l'albero. Use il before every other consonant: il libro, il treno. The same sounds choose uno over un and gli over i.

What is the plural of l' in Italian?

It depends on the gender. Masculine l' becomes gli: l'amico, gli amici. Feminine l' becomes le: l'amica, le amiche. In modern Italian, gli and le do not elide before a vowel, so you write gli italiani and le isole.

Why is it un amico but un'amica?

The apostrophe marks a dropped letter. Una loses its final a before a vowel, so una amica becomes un'amica. The masculine un is already a complete word with nothing dropped, so un amico never takes an apostrophe.

When does Italian use the definite article where English does not?

Italian uses it with possessives (la mia macchina), with general statements (il caffè è amaro, coffee is bitter), with most country names (l'Italia è bella), with titles when you talk about someone (il signor Rossi), and with clock times (sono le tre). One important exception: singular family members with a possessive take no article, so you say mia madre, not la mia madre.

How do I know if an Italian noun is masculine or feminine?

Most nouns that end in -o are masculine (il libro), and most nouns that end in -a are feminine (la casa). Nouns that end in -e can be either, so learn them with the article: il fiore (the flower), la chiave (the key). Some common exceptions are il problema (the problem) and la mano (the hand).

Italian grammar · Beginner

Italian Articles

Written by Parrot Italian Team, Italian Curriculum Editors · Reviewed October 2026

Italian articles agree with the noun in gender and number, and the first sound of the next word decides the exact form. The definite article has seven forms (il, lo, l', la, i, gli, le), the indefinite article has four (un, uno, una, un'), and the partitive article (del, della, dei) means some.

What it is

Every Italian noun is masculine or feminine, and the article in front of it shows the gender and the number. The definite article (the) has seven forms: il, lo, l', la, i, gli, le. The indefinite article (a, an) has four: un, uno, una, un'. Lo, gli, and uno appear before s + consonant, z, gn, ps, x, and y (lo studente, gli zii, uno zaino), and l' replaces lo or la before a vowel (l'amico, l'isola). Italian also uses the definite article where English drops it: with possessives (la mia casa), with general statements (amo la musica, I love music), and with most country names (l'Italia).

Ho comprato un libro e uno zaino. Il libro è rosso, lo zaino è blu. (I bought a book and a backpack. The book is red, the backpack is blue.)

How to spot it

To pick the form, check two things: the gender and number of the noun, then the first sound of the word right after the article. That word can be an adjective, so the article can change: lo studente, but il bravo studente.

il treno → i treni (the train → the trains)
lo sport → gli sport (the sport → the sports)
l'amico → gli amici (the friend → the friends (masculine))
l'amica → le amiche (the friend → the friends (feminine))

The feminine indefinite article takes an apostrophe before a vowel (un'amica), but the masculine one never does (un amico). This is the most common spelling mistake with Italian articles.

Articles & Nouns Quick Reference

The Italian article system: which form, and when

Article	Used with	Example
il	Masculine singular, before most consonants	il libro, il ragazzo (the book, the boy)
lo	Masculine singular, before s + consonant, z, gn, ps, x, y	lo studente, lo zaino, lo psicologo (the student, the backpack, the psychologist)
l'	Masculine or feminine singular, before a vowel	l'amico, l'isola (the friend, the island)
la	Feminine singular, before a consonant	la casa, la studentessa (the house, the student)
i	Masculine plural of il	i libri, i ragazzi (the books, the boys)
gli	Masculine plural of lo and of masculine l'	gli studenti, gli zaini, gli amici (the students, the backpacks, the friends)
le	Feminine plural, before any sound	le case, le amiche (the houses, the friends)
un	Masculine singular, before a vowel or most consonants	un libro, un amico (a book, a friend)
uno	Masculine singular, before s + consonant, z, gn, ps, x, y	uno studente, uno zaino (a student, a backpack)
una	Feminine singular, before a consonant	una casa, una studentessa (a house, a student)
un'	Feminine singular, before a vowel	un'amica, un'isola (a friend, an island)
Partitive (some)	di + definite article: del, dello, dell', della, dei, degli, delle	del pane, dell'acqua, delle mele (some bread, some water, some apples)

All 4 articles & nouns lessons

Articles are the first thing you say before almost every Italian noun, so small errors here show up in every sentence. The first group covers the definite, indefinite, and partitive articles, with the sound rules that choose between il and lo or un and uno. The second group covers the nouns themselves: how to form plurals, including the irregular ones.

Articles

The definite article (il, lo, la), the indefinite article (un, uno, una), and the partitive (del, della) for some.

Definite Articles: Italian definite articles are the seven words for the: il, lo, l', la, i, gli, and le. The right one depends on the gender of the noun, its number, and the sound the next word starts with. Italian also uses the definite article in many places where English has none, such as general statements, possessives, and names of languages.
Indefinite Articles: Italian indefinite articles are the words for a and an: un, uno, una, and un'. Masculine nouns take un, or uno before s plus a consonant, z, gn, ps, x, and y; feminine nouns take una, or un' before a vowel. There is no plural indefinite article: for some, Italian uses dei, degli, delle, or alcuni.
Partitive Article: The Italian partitive article expresses an amount you are not counting: some bread, some friends. It has the same forms as di plus the definite article: del, dello, dell', della, dei, degli, delle. English often leaves some out, and Italian often can too, but in the plural the partitive also works as the missing plural of un and una.

Nouns

How Italian nouns change from singular to plural, and the common nouns that break the pattern.

Plurals: Italian plurals are formed by changing the final vowel of the noun, not by adding -s. Masculine -o becomes -i (libro, libri), feminine -a becomes -e (casa, case), and -e becomes -i for both genders (fiore, fiori). Nouns that end in an accented vowel or a consonant, such as città and film, do not change at all.

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Articles & Nouns FAQs

When do you use lo instead of il in Italian?: Use lo before a masculine singular word that starts with s + consonant, z, gn, ps, x, or y: lo studente, lo zio, lo gnomo, lo psicologo, lo yogurt. Before a vowel, lo becomes l': l'albero. Use il before every other consonant: il libro, il treno. The same sounds choose uno over un and gli over i.
What is the plural of l' in Italian?: It depends on the gender. Masculine l' becomes gli: l'amico, gli amici. Feminine l' becomes le: l'amica, le amiche. In modern Italian, gli and le do not elide before a vowel, so you write gli italiani and le isole.
Why is it un amico but un'amica?: The apostrophe marks a dropped letter. Una loses its final a before a vowel, so una amica becomes un'amica. The masculine un is already a complete word with nothing dropped, so un amico never takes an apostrophe.
When does Italian use the definite article where English does not?: Italian uses it with possessives (la mia macchina), with general statements (il caffè è amaro, coffee is bitter), with most country names (l'Italia è bella), with titles when you talk about someone (il signor Rossi), and with clock times (sono le tre). One important exception: singular family members with a possessive take no article, so you say mia madre, not la mia madre.
How do I know if an Italian noun is masculine or feminine?: Most nouns that end in -o are masculine (il libro), and most nouns that end in -a are feminine (la casa). Nouns that end in -e can be either, so learn them with the article: il fiore (the flower), la chiave (the key). Some common exceptions are il problema (the problem) and la mano (the hand).