Invariable nouns (Nomi invariabili)
Many nouns in Italian, have a unique form for both the singular and the plural, and for this reason are called
invariable nouns.
Let's see which ones:
1. Monosyllabic nouns:
Examples:
il re (the king) → i re (the kings), lo sci (the ski) → gli sci (the skis), etc...
2. Nouns ending in an accented vowel:
Examples:
Il caffè (the coffee) → i caffè (the coffees), la città (the city) → le città (the cities), l'età (the age) → le età (the ages), etc...
3. Nouns adopted from foreign languages:
Examples:
Lo sport (the sport) → gli sport (the sports), il whisky (the whisky) → i whisky (the whiskies), etc...
Sometimes it is also possible to find the plural form of the original language.
Examples:
Il curriculum (the curriculum) → i curricula (the curriculum), etc...
4. Nouns ending in "-i":
Examples:
L'analisi (the analysis) → le analisi (the analyses), la crisi (the crisis) → le crisi (the crises), l'ipotesi (the hypothesis) → le ipotesi (the hypoteses), etc...
5. Some masculine nouns ending in "-a":
Examples: Il sosia (the double) → i sosia (the doubles), il gorilla (the gorilla) → i gorilla (the gorillas), il boia (the executioner) → i boia (the executioners), etc...
6. Abbrevieted nouns:
Examples:
Il cinema (the cinema) → i cinema (the cinemas), l'auto (the car) → le auto (the cars), la moto (the motorbike) → le moto (the motorbikes), la foto (the photo) → le foto (the photos), etc...
NOTE:
"Cinema" stands for "cinematografo";
"Auto" stands for "automobile";
"Moto" stands for "motocicletta";
"Foto" stands for "fotografia";
Etc...
7. Nouns ending in "-ie":
Examples:
La specie (the species) → le specie (the species), la serie (the series), → le serie (the series), etc...
But...
-
La moglie (the wife) → le mogli (the wives);
- la superficie (the surface) → le superfici (the surfaces);
- l'effigie (the effigy) → le effigi (the effigies).
Posted by Arnaldo Colonna on Jaunary 4, 2010 - All rights reserved
Tags:
Italian, nouns, same, plural, singular, form, nomi, invariabili, grammar, free, online, learn, tutor
Copyright © 2009 - 2012 www.arnix.it - All rights reserved - VAT number: IT06444691213