Lesson #031, Monday
10/23/06 • 6 min
The seven ways to say 'the' are il, lo, l', la, i, gli, and le. Now here are the rules for deciding which of these forms to use.
il = will precede masculine singular nouns that begin with a consonant, except words beginning with ps, pn, gn, z and s followed by a consonant.
il libro = the book
il ragazzo = the boy
lo = will precede masculine singular nouns that begin with ps, pn, gn, z and s followed by a consonant.
lo specchio = the mirror
lo studente = the student
l' = will precede all masculine and feminine singular nouns beginning with a vowel.
l'amico = the friend
l'acqua = the water
la = will precede all feminine singular nouns beginning with a consonant.
la donna = the woman
la ragazza = the girl
i = is the plural form of il.
i libri = the books
i ragazzi = the boys
gli = is the plural form of lo and l' for masculine plural nouns.
gli specchi = the mirrors
gli amici = the friends
le = is the plural form of both la and l' for feminine plural nouns.
le donne = the women
le acque = the waters
The seven ways to say 'the' are il, lo, l', la, i, gli, and le. Now here are the rules for deciding which of these forms to use.
il = will precede masculine singular nouns that begin with a consonant, except words beginning with ps, pn, gn, z and s followed by a consonant.
il libro = the book
il ragazzo = the boy
lo = will precede masculine singular nouns that begin with ps, pn, gn, z and s followed by a consonant.
lo specchio = the mirror
lo studente = the student
l' = will precede all masculine and feminine singular nouns beginning with a vowel.
l'amico = the friend
l'acqua = the water
la = will precede all feminine singular nouns beginning with a consonant.
la donna = the woman
la ragazza = the girl
i = is the plural form of il.
i libri = the books
i ragazzi = the boys
gli = is the plural form of lo and l' for masculine plural nouns.
gli specchi = the mirrors
gli amici = the friends
le = is the plural form of both la and l' for feminine plural nouns.
le donne = the women
le acque = the waters
Previous Episode
Lesson #030, Friday
ragazzo = boy
ragazza = girl
bambino = baby
uomo = man
donna = woman
cane = dog
gatto = cat
acqua = water
specchio = mirror
pasta = pasta
pane = bread
verdure = vegetables
gnocchi = Italian dumplings
zucchero = sugar
insalata = salad
spaghetti = spaghetti
Next Episode
Lesson #032, Tuesday
parlare = to speak
cantare = to sing
mangiare = to eat
studiare = to study
giocare = to play
pensare = to think
comprare = to buy
imparare = to learn
amare = to love
Then to conjugate the infinitive, you will drop the 'are' and add the following endings:
io = add 'o'
tu = add 'i'
Lei/lui/lei = add 'a'
noi = add 'iamo'
voi = add 'ate'
loro = add 'ano'
So, for example, here is how to conjugate the verb 'cantare.'
cantare = to sing
io canto = I sing
tu canti = you sing
Lei/lui/lei canta = you/he/she sings
noi cantiamo = we sing
voi cantate = you sing
loro cantano = they sing
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