Use of the neuter article lo. Definite articles Indefinite articles in Italian table
The grammatical expression of the category of indeterminacy in Italian nouns is such an important service unit, which is in close connection with the nominative part of speech combined with it, as the indefinite article (un altro padre (second father), una scala (staircase), una tavola (board), un sonno (sleep), etc.).
The point is that articolo indeterminativo (indefinite article) is used when it is necessary to emphasize the ability of a definite noun to only indicate an object or person, without defining them. Thus, using articolo indeterminativo, the speaker indicates one of his own similar objects/subjects, without specifying or specifying it (for example: rosso come un(“any”, not a specific one) peperone (red as a lobster). —
Questo and un regalo bellissimo. (This is a great gift.) - no specification is given, what is meant is “a great gift in general.”
Ognuno deve saperlo come conficcare un chiodo con il martello. (Everyone should know how to hammer a nail.) - hammer any nail, not a specific one
Si è tolto un peso dallo stomaco. (A stone has been lifted from his soul) - a simple indication of a fact without specifying the subject.
Mi ha suggerito di leggere un libro. (He suggested that I read a book) - read “any book,” without specifying which one specifically. Let's compare - questo и il(clear specification) quarto libro dell’Eneide (This is the fourth book of the Aeneid).
It should be noted that the Italian indefinite article differs by gender, breaking up (this depends on the gender of the noun attached to the article) into masculine forms ( uno scopo (ottenere uno scopo) - goal (to achieve a goal); un bicchiere (versare un bicchiere di latte) - glass (pour a glass of milk), etc.) and female ( un' isola ( un' isola vulcanica) - island (volcanic island); una map ( una carta geografica) - map (geographical map), etc.
|
Genus articolo indeterminativo |
Form articolo indeterminativo |
| male | un/uno |
| female | una/un' |
As a rule, the sound-letter form of the Italian articolo indeterminativo is determined by the generic characteristics of the nominative unit + its initial sound design. Let's summarize:
table. Articles in Italian(indefinite article) - basic forms
| Genus/form | Application | |
| Application procedure | Application examples | |
| Masculine | ||
| Un | In preposition to nominal units, starting with vowels/consonants (except: z-/gn-/ps-. and s+acc.) | un+ ratto (rat), un+ tetto (roof), un+ tabellone (scoreboard) |
| uno | In preposition to nominal units, starting with z-/gn-/ps-. and s+acc. | uno +straniero (foreigner), uno +scenografo (set designer), uno +scrittore (writer) |
| Feminine | ||
| una | In preposition to nominal units, starting with consonants | una +matita (pencil), una +bambinaia (nanny), una +bica (stack) |
| un' | In preposition to nominal units, starting with vowels | un’+opera (business), un’+esca (bait), un’+ area (area |
Thus, it is clear that the use of the truncated form (un’) is limited only to use with nominative units of the feminine domain (un’attrezzatura (snap), un’epoca (era), etc.). At the same time, recently in the Italian printed written literary language (magazines/newspapers, etc.) one can increasingly encounter cases of using the full form (una) even in conjunction with nouns (feminine) that begin with an unstressed vowel ( una edizione (cf.: un’edizione) - publication; una etichetta (cf.: attaccare un' etichetta - stick a label) - label, less often with -a ( una amica (cf.: un’amica) - girlfriend).
It will also be necessary to take into account the possibility of separating the nominative unit and articolo indeterminativo by definitions/adverbs, etc. In these cases, we will already observe the dependence of the used forms of the indefinite article on the initial lettering of not the nominative unit itself, but the word immediately located after the article. (uno+scrittore (writer) - un+famoso scrittore (famous writer); un'+o pera (business) - una+ nuova o pera (new business), etc.).
As a rule, the Italian indefinite article does not have a plural form. In view of this, to fix the gramme of uncertainty in the plural, either the zero (omitted) article is used here (un'edizione (edition) - edizioni (edition); uno gnomo (gnome) - gnomi (gnomes); un albero (tree) - alberi ( trees), or special forms are used (often called “partial forms” by grammarians - not to be confused with the partial article, as such!) -
|
Genus articolo indeterminativo |
Form articolo indeterminativo |
|||
| Singular number | Plural | |||
|
un+ ratto (rat) un+ ago (needle) |
dei, degli (before the main word) |
dei +ratti (rats); degli +agi (needles) |
||
|
uno +straniero (foreigner) |
degli +stranieri (foreigners) |
|||
|
una +bambinaia (nanny) |
delle+ bambinaie (nannies) |
|||
|
un’+ opera (case, work) |
delle+ opere (deeds, works) |
|||
Here are a few examples:
Sono degli alberi da frutto. (These are fruit trees).
Dipingere (zero article) colori a olio. (Paint with oil paints).
Dei prezzi sono salati. (Prices are steep).
Dammi delle matite per gli occhi (Give me some eyeliner).
The corresponding words can also help convey the aspect of uncertainty in the plural - in preposition to a noun (qualche/alcuni/alcune) -
Alcuni giovani credono che... (Some young people think that...)
Datemi qualche libri. (Give me some books (several books)).
As for use directly indefinite article in Italian, this is primarily due to the cases:
1. assigning a person/object to a class-group of homogeneous objects
É un animale domestico. (This is a pet)
2. focusing on an object/subject as one of many similar things
Portami una picture d'aghi. (Bring me a pack of (one of) sewing needles).
3. an object/subject described for the first time in any specific situation -
Mangia un‘arancia. Questa arancia è matura. (He eats an orange. This orange is ripe).
4. presence of the definition in pre/postposition to the nominative unit
É un affare serio. (This is a serious matter).
In this lesson we will look at why the article is needed in Italian and understand the difference between the definite and indefinite article.
In this short story, the words in purple function as articles.
Examples of articles in Italian
In one city there lived a boy. / In una città abitava un bambino.
Why do we write to one city? After all, it is clear that there is one city, there are not two or three.
Simply in this way we make it clear that the city is unknown and in general we are hearing about it for the first time. Therefore, an article is needed here.
If they had written simply: “There lived a boy in the city,” then this sentence at the beginning of the story would have been jarring, because It is unknown which city is being referred to.
Some boy - by this we also show that we are hearing about this boy for the first time. Further.
This boy had a dog. / Il bambino aveva un cane.
Now we already understand what kind of boy we are talking about (the one who lives in the city), so we use “this”, and in Italian the article.
We hear about the dog for the first time, but we already guess that it is a dog unknown to us, but in the Italian language it is not customary to guess, but you need to chew everything. Therefore, an article is placed before the word “dog - cane”.
And one last suggestion.
One day this dog bit a man. / Una volta il cane ha morso un uomo. Here we are already familiar with the dog, so we need an article, but with the man we are not, so we need an article before the man.
Another example.
In a store you ask the seller: “Give me the package” / “Mi può dare una busta?”
Here you ask for any package, you just need to put the product somewhere. The seller understands this and gives you the package at his discretion. But in Italian, such a trick will not work without an article and you need to use an article.
But if you say to the seller: "Give me this package, please." / "Mi può dare la busta?" You are asking for a specific package. Then in Italian you need to use an article.
It must be said that Italians are annoyed by the habit of our fellow citizens living in Italy of sometimes not consuming them, because... the phrase looks incomplete, as if unfinished, and makes you strain and think to understand what is being said. And thinking, as you know, is also work.
To use articles correctly, you need to know (male or female).
Bottom line
The indefinite article is before an indefinite noun, the definite article is before a concrete noun.
Today we will finally understand those very incomprehensible lo, le, il, gli, la, l". It will be clear and easy ;-)
1. WHAT IS AN ARTICLE in fact, articles exist in many languages. But they are not in Russian. And it’s difficult for us to understand why they are needed. Let's put it nicely: articles are function words(yes, they are small, but these are words) that are needed in order to clarify speech.
* they are placed only before nouns (answer the question who? or what?). And they can turn another part of speech
into a noun if you put them.
*they help to distinguish the number. There are words in Italian that sound the same in both the plural and
the only one. Only the article indicates the number.
* and stuff like that
But we will still assume that we could have done without articles ;-)
2. WHAT ARE THE ARTICLES and there are many of them - conjugate, partial, zero. But there is a main division: definite and indefinite articles. We have already met indefinite ones - remember una, un`? We will teach them later, but now let's get down to certain ones.
3. WHAT ARE DETERMINATE ARTICLES
such articles are used to denote something specific (indefinite - for something in general). I feel like I need an example. "The child asks for a toy." If he just sits at home and begs, this is an indefinite article. If he is in the Children's World and points to a specific one, it is a definite article.
So,
articolo determinativo(definite article)
Let's learn the types of definite articles and figure out when to use which one.
4. ARTICLE IL in Italian there are only 2 genders: masculine and feminine (in Russian there are 3 - there is also a neuter). This article “il” is placed before words that are masculine and singular. In general, articles differ only in gender and number (in addition to the singular, there is also a plural). Well, there are a couple more exception articles. So
il (masculine article, singular)
Examples: il naso (nose) il maiale (pig) il tavolo (table)
5. ARTICLE I used with masculine plural words. So right away: please don’t panic. Very soon you will learn to intuitively guess the gender of a word. And number is easy, the endings of a word in the plural and singular do not coincide. Look at the endings of the words in the examples:
Examples: i lnasi (noses) i maiali (pigs) i tavoli (tables)
i
(masculine article, plural)
6. ARTICLE LA and here we are already moving to the feminine gender - it is used for words of the feminine gender, singular.
Examples: la pecora (lamb) la rosa (rose) la pera (pear)
la
(feminine article, singular)
7. ARTICLE LE- this is feminine, plural. Compare the endings in the examples
Examples: le pecore (sheep) le rose (roses) le pere (pears)
le
(feminine article, plural)
8. ARTICLE L" this article does not depend on gender. But it is placed only before words in the singular. When? When they start with a vowel
Examples: l"uva (grape, feminine) l"arancia (orange, feminine) l"elmo (helmet, masculine)
l"
(article of a word starting with a vowel, singular)
9. ARTICLE LO used only with masculine words. But they must begin in a certain way:
* with consonant z. Example: lo zio (uncle) lo zufolo (pipe)
* with combinations gn or ps. Example: lo gnomo (gnome) lo psicologo (psychologist)
* with the combination s + any other consonant. Example: lo specchio (mirror)
It’s easier to remember it all this way: lo is put if the word is masculine and begins with several consonants
lo
(article of a masculine word starting with z or several consonants, singular)
10. ARTICLE GLI
This is a modification of the exception articles (l" and lo) for the plural. That is, it is placed before plural words that begin with a vowel or more than one consonant. Remember one thing: this only happens with masculine words. Feminine words that begin with a vowel in the plural they look the same as any other feminine plural words - they have the article le.
Examples: l`orologio (hours, singular, masculine) gli orologio (hours, plural) but l`arancia (orange, feminine) le arance (oranges)
gli
(article of a word beginning with a vowel or several consonants, plural, masculine)
11. DICTIONARY OF DETERMINATE ARTICLES
let's sum it up. That's all we've learned
il
(masculine, singular)
la (feminine, singular)
i (masculine, plural)
le (feminine, plural)
l` (word begins with a vowel, singular)
lo (word begins with z or several consonants, masculine, singular)
gli (plural, masculine, word begins with a vowel or several consonants)
12. VIDEO TO MEMORIZE
the girl explains everything clearly and accessible, but only in English
13. TESTS 1 SIMPLE
Let's check how we remember everything. Pass this test And this test. Words from the tests with translation into Russian - see below (what we have already taught is highlighted in gray).
There are only six questions in the tests. You need to choose the correct article for the word. Rules:
* press option a, b, c
* if you chose correctly - :-) If incorrectly - X
castello
(castle) ufficio (office)
studio (office) appartamento (apartment)
palazzo (palace) negozio (shop)
uomo (man) bambino (child)
ragazzo (boy) inventore (inventor)
architetto (architect) scrittore (writer)
14. TEST 2 IS MORE DIFFICULT
come through (school)
giardino (garden) case (house) albero (tree)
quadro (picture) tazza (cup) bicchiere (glass)
finestre (window) tavoli (desks) studenti (students)
uomo (man) bambini (children) penna (handle)
fogli (sheets) scalini (steps) scarpe (shoes, plural)
ombrello (umbrella) amica (girlfriend) vestito (clothes)
rosa (rose) capelli (hair) bicicletta (motorcycle)
stadio (stadium) occhi (eyes) strada (road)
porte (door) quaderno (notebook) compiti (homework)
rivista (magazine)
Ciao, amici! - Hello, friends!
Come on? Tutto a posto? - How are you? Is everything ok?
In previous lessons we examined nouns and adjectives, we know some exceptions, and I think it’s time to move on to articles. D'accordo? Do you agree?
D'accordo - this expression means: I agree, agree, agree. Remember that this word does not change its form; in any person and number the form will remain: d’accordo.
The definite article (L’ARTICOLO DETERMINATIVO)
What is an article?
Article is a part of speech that is used in conjunction with a noun and is placed in front of it. The article indicates the definiteness/indeterminacy of a noun, and also, precisely, the article will come to our aid in determining what kind of a particular noun, when it is difficult to determine at the end.
In Italian there are the following types of articles:
"articolo determinativo"- “definite article”
"articolo indeterminativo"- “indefinite article”
"articolo partitivo"- “partial article”
Are you already in a panic? Don't worry!
We will learn articles gradually.
If a noun denotes an object, then it is always used with an article. We put the article in front of the noun, and agree in gender and number with the noun.
Advice:
Get used to using nouns with articles right away. When you learn new words, write them down with the definite article. It will be easier for you.
We will start with the definite article – “l’articolo determinativo”.
The definite article can take several forms. What determines the choice of which article to use?
To begin with, I would like you to understand for yourself how the choice of article occurs. Below I will give you words with the definite article in the singular. Look at them carefully and think why the following nouns different shape article:
lo zingaro - gypsy
l'amico - friend
il ragazzo - boy
la bambola – doll
l'universo - universe
l’altalena – swing
Well, friends, have you guessed it?
The choice of article depends not only on the gender and number of the noun, but also on the letter(s) with which the word begins.
Let's figure it out.
So, let's start with the masculine gender.
For masculine singular nouns there will be:
Article "LO"
if they start with:
1) "s + consonant"
(- sp, - st, - sc, etc.)
For example:
lo spettacolo – performance
lo studente – student
lo sci – skis
lo scudo – shield
lo scoiattolo - squirrel
lo spumante – champagne
lo sdegno - indignation
lo scemo - fool, fool
lo specchio - mirror
2) z; y; x;
For example:
lo zero - zero
lo yougurt - yogurt
lo zaino – backpack
lo xylofono – xylophone
lo zucchero – sugar
lo zingaro - gypsy
lo xenofobo - xenophobe
lo yeti - Bigfoot (yeti)
3) for such letter combinations as: "pn", "ps", "gn"
lo psycologo – psychologist
lo pneumatico – tire
lo gnomo - gnome
lo gnocco - dumpling
4) "i + vowel"
There are very few such words in Italian.
lo iettatore - a person with an evil eye, one who can cast the evil eye
lo iodio – iodine
lo iato - gaping (linguistic term)
Article "GLI"
That is, all these masculine nouns, which in the singular had the article “lo”, in the plural will have the article: “gli”
For example:
gli gnomi - gnomes
gli zii – uncles
gli studenti – students
gli sceriffi - sheriffs
gli psicologi - psychologists
gli spettacoli – performances
gli scudi – shields
gli sbagli – errors
gli scopi - goals
Article "IL"
if they begin with all other consonants that do not belong to the group indicated above:
il ragazzo - boy
il mare – sea
il libro – book
il vino – wine
il cibo – food
il panino – sandwich
il testo - text
il quaderno – notebook
The plural of this article will be:
Article "I"
i ragazzi - guys
i mari – seas
i libri – books
i vini - wine
i panini - sandwiches
i quaderni – notebooks
Masculine singular nouns will have an article:
Article “L’”
if these nouns begin with a vowel.
For example:
l'olio - oil
l'albero - tree
l'inno - anthem
l'attore - actor
l’attimo – moment, moment
l'occhio - eye
The plural of this article will be:
Article "GLI"
gli oli – oils
gli alberi – trees
gli inni – hymns
gli attori – actors
gli attimi - moments
gli occhi – eyes
We've sorted out the masculine gender, friends. Now let's move on to feminine nouns. With the feminine gender everything is a little simpler. We will have two forms of the definite article: “la” and “l’”. You guessed absolutely correctly when we will use which article.
Feminine singular nouns will have an article:
Article "LA"
If they begin with any consonant.
For example:
la donna - woman
la studentessa - student
la borsa - bag
la barzelletta - joke
la professoressa - professor (female)
la stanza – room
la camera da letto - bedroom
The plural of this article will be:
Article "LE"
le donne – women
le studentesse - female students
le borse – bags
le barzellette - jokes
le professoresse – professors (women)
le stanze – rooms
le camere da letto – bedrooms
Feminine singular nouns will have:
Article “L’”
if these nouns begin with a vowel.
For example:
l'amica - friend
l’età – age
l'albicocca - apricot
l'università - university
l'ispirazione - inspiration
The plural of this article will be:
Article "LE"
le amiche - friends
le albicocche – apricots
le università – universities
le ispirazioni - inspiration
Conclusion: Feminine plural nouns always have the definite article: “le”.
Friends, we will not now analyze when a definite article is used and when some other one is used. At this point, you should learn the forms of the definite article well and get used to using it. In the future, when we learn other articles, we will analyze their use.
Learning to choose an article
We look at the ending of the noun
- Determine its gender and number
- We look at what letter the word begins with and, depending on this, choose the correct definite article
Now, let's look at two very important verbs in Italian.
These are the verbs: “to be” and “to have”. These two verbs are irregular, therefore, dear sir and lady, you just need to learn them. These verbs are used in various phrases that we will look at.
In order to conjugate a verb we need pronouns.
"Singolare" - "Singular"
"io"- "I"
"tu"- "You"
"lui"- "He"
"lei"- "she"
"Lei"- “You” (this is a polite form of address, to one person using “You”, both a man and a woman)
"Plurale" - "Plural"
"noi"- "We"
"voi"- "You"
"loro"- "They"
Verb "ESSERE"
"be"
"Essere" is initial form verb, infinitive. What to do? Be. To conjugate this verb by person: I am, you are, etc., we must change the form of the verb depending on the person and number.
Io – sono – I am
Tu – sei – you exist
Lui, lei, Lei - è - he, she, you are
Noi – siamo – we are
Voi – siete – you are
Loro – sono – they exist
Please note that in the 3rd person singular there is a graphic stress above the verb form. It should be placed exactly in this direction (from the upper left corner down).
Don’t forget to put it in the letter, because otherwise you will end up with the conjunction “e”, which is translated into Russian as “and”.
We can omit pronouns when we understand who they are talking about we're talking about, since the form of the verb indicates who we are talking about. But at the beginning, when you are just learning, we advise you to pronounce the form of the verb with a pronoun each time in order to remember it faster.
And we, dear friends, can already say with the help of this verb what our name is:
Io sono Daria.
I am Daria.
(literally it turns out: I am Daria)
E tu sei Mario?
Are you Mario?
(Are you Mario?)
No, io sono Andrea.
No, I'm Andrea.
We can also combine the adjectives that we have learned and this verb.
For example:
"triste" – sad
"felice" - happy
Perché tu sei triste?
Why are you sad?
No, non sono triste. Io sono felice.
No, I'm not sad. I'm happy.
To form a negation, as in the last example, we put the negative particle “non” in front of the verb.
Maria and Alessio sono felici.
Maria and Alessio are happy.
Set expression:
"essere in ritardo"- be late
(lit. to be late)
To conjugate this phrase, we only need to change the form of the verb “essere”, “in ritardo” does not change)
Io – sono in ritardo – I’m late
Tu – sei in ritardo – you are late
Lui, lei, Lei - è in ritardo - he, she, you are late
Noi – siamo in ritardo – we are late
Voi – siete in ritardo – you are late
Loro – sono in ritardo – they are late
Verb "AVERE"
"have"
In the conjugation of this verb, in some forms, our silent letter “h” is added. Do not forget that this letter has no sound, that is, it is written but not pronounced.
Io – ho – I have
Tu – hai – you have
Lui, lei, Lei – ha – he has, she has, you have
Noi – abbiamo – we have
Voi – avete – you have
Loro – hanno – they have
This verb is used in many stable expressions. We'll look at some of them now.
ave fame- want to eat (literally: to have hunger)
avere sete- want to drink (literally: to be thirsty)
avere freddo– to experience cold (literally: to have cold)
avere caldo– to experience heat (literally: to have heat)
Friends, remember these phrases verbatim so that you don’t get confused.
In all these phrases (listed above), only the form of the verb “avere” will change, the nouns: “fame” - hunger, “sete” - thirst, “freddo” - cold, “caldo” - heat, will not change their form when conjugated.
For example:
Io – ho fame – I want to eat, I’m hungry, I’m hungry
Tu – hai fame – do you want to eat
Lui, lei, Lei - ha fame - he is hungry, she is hungry, you are hungry
Noi – abbiamo fame – we want to eat
Voi – avete fame – you are hungry
Loro – hanno fame – they want to eat