Ciao raga!
Raga is short for ragazzi, meaning guys in this case. Not a word you would use towards teachers, obviously. =)
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It's time to learn how to distinguish singular nouns from plural ones.
Singular=Singolare
-In Italian
Plural=Plurale
Quick revision:
Masculine singular nouns usually end with o. (Il Pollo-Chicken)
In their plural form usually with i. (I Polli-Chickens)
Whereas feminine singular nouns tend to end with a. (La Figlia-Daughter)
Feminine plural ones however often end with e. (Le Figlie-Daughters)
Esempi:
Il Tavolo-Table
Tavolo ends with o so it's masculine and singular.
In its plural form?
Replace o with i:
I tavoli-tables.
The same procedure goes for the following nouns:
Il ragazzo-I ragazzi-Boy-Boys
Il bambino-I bambini-Little boy-little boys
Il libro-I libri-Book-books
L'adulto-Gli adulti-Adult-Adults
Il soldo-I soldi-Coin-Coins/Money
Il gatto-I gatti-Cat-Cats
Il telefono-I telefoni-Telephone-Telephones.
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Feminine nouns:
Most end with a when singular, so replace a with e to transform it into its plural form-
La ragazza-Le ragazze-Girl-Girls
La bambina-Le bambine-Little girl-Little girls
La gatta-Le gatte-Female cat-Female cats
La donna-Le donne-Woman-Women
La finestra-Le finestre-Window-Windows.
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Certamente, (certainly/of course) there are exceptions. Here are just some of the very many known:
1.) Masculine nouns ending with e when singular and i when plural:
L'amore-Love (Gli amori is used to express affection towards other people, namely children, so it is translated as: darlings)
L'animale-Gli animali-Animal-Animals
Il cane-I cani-Dog-Dogs
Il mare-I mari-Sea-Seas
Il colore-I colori-Colour-Colours
Il padre-I padri-Father-Fathers
Il fiore-I fiori-Flower-Flowers
Il sole-I soli-Sun-Suns
Il paese-I paesi-Country-Countries
Il fiume-I fiumi-River-Rivers
Il pesce-I pesci-Fish-Fishes
Il ristorante-I ristoranti-Restaurants
Lo studente-Gli studenti-Student/Students
Il piede-I piedi-Foot-Feet
Il nome-I nomi-Name-Names
2.) Feminine nouns ending with o in their singular form and i in their plural:
La mano-le mani-Hand-Hands
La moto-le moto (without changing o in this case)-Motorbike-motorbikes
L'eco-gli echi (from feminine to masculine in this case)-Echo-Echoes
3.) Masculine nouns that become feminine in their plural form!
L'uovo-le uova-Egg-eggs
4.) Feminine nouns ending with e in their singular form...
La televisione-television (Le televisioni-televisions)
La pittrice-(female) painter (Le pittrici-(female) painters)
L'attrice-actress (Le attrici-actresses)
L'azione-The action (Le azioni-the actions)
La funzione-The function (Le funzioni-The functions)
La cantante-(female) singer (Le cantanti-the female singers)
(Il cantante also means a male singer, just switch the gender of the article).
5.) Masculine nouns ending with a (with -ma, really):
Il diagramma-Diagram (I diagrammi-diagrams)
Il dilemma-Dilemma (I dilemmi-dilemmas)
Il problema-Problem (I problemi-problems)
6.) ALL nouns ending with an accentuated vowel remain unvaried in their plural form:
La città-le città: The city-the cities
La moralità-le moralità: Morality-moralities
Il caffè-I caffè: The coffee-The coffees
Il falò-I falò: The bonfire-The bonfires
L'università-Le università: The university-The universities
Il colibrì-I colibrì: The hummingbird-The hummingbirds
And of course there are others, but just memorize these words as for now.
Alla prossima lezione! (See you at the next lesson!)
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