Agreement and position of Italian adjectives
Italian Adjectives must agree in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) with the noun they refer to. The adjective can be (before or after) the noun. If the adjective is longer than the noun it usually goes after It.
1. Italian adjectives endings: in (-o) or (-e):
Most adjectives in Italian end in -o or -e:
| -o | -e |
| Italiano (Italian) Lungo (Long) Rosso (red) Bello (Beautiful) Buono (Good) Chiaro (Clear) | Grande (Big / great) Inglese (English) Verde (Green) Intelligente (Intelligent) Facile (Easy) |
2. Italian adjectives ending in -o:
Adjectives ending in -o have four forms:
Masculine singular end in -o (italiano, lungo, rosso, bello..etc.)
Ragazzo Italiano (Italian boy)
Albero lungo (long tree)
Fiore rosso (red flower)
Bambino bello (beautiful child)
Masculine plural end in -i (italiani, lunghi, rossi, belli..etc.)
Ragazzi Italiani (Italian Boys)
Alberi lunghi (Long Trees)
Fiori rossi (red flowers)
Bambini belli (beautiful children)
Feminine singular end in -a (italiana, lunga, rossa, bella..etc.)
Ragazza Italiana (The Italian girl)
Strada lunga (The long road)
Macchina rossa (The red car)
Bambina bella (The beautiful girl)
Feminine plural end in -e (italiane, lunghe, rosse, belle. etc.)
Ragazze Italiane (Italian girls)
Strade lunghe (Long roads)
Macchine rosse (Red cars)
Bambine belle (Beautiful girls)
3. Italian adjectives ending in -e have two forms:
Masculine and feminine singular end in -e (Grande, verde, facile , intelligente..etc)
Giardino Grande (Big Garden).
Casa Grande (Big House).
Pianta Verde (Green Plant).
Albero Verde (Green Tree).
Ragazza intelligente (Smart Girl).
Ragazzo intelligente (Smart Boy).
Vita Facile (Easy Life).
Esercizio facile (Esasy Exercise).
Masculine and feminine plural end in -i (Grandi, verdi, facili, intelligenti..etc)
Giardini Grandi (Big Gardens).
Case Grandi (Big Houses).
Piante Verdi (Green Plants).
Alberi Verdi (Green Trees).
Ragazze intelligenti (Smart Girls).
Ragazzi intelligenti (Smart Boys).
Vite Facili (Easy Lives).
Esercizi facili (Esasy Exercises).
4. Italian adjectives ending in -co and -go.
Adjectives in Italian that end in -co and -go, in the feminine plural, keep the hard sound of C and G and end in -Che and -Ghe, usually they keep the sound even in the masculine plural and end in -Chi and -Ghi.
- Masculine singular:
- Vestito bianco e Lungo (White and long Dress)
- Masculine plural:
- Vestiti bianchi e lunghi (White and long Dresses)
- Feminine singular:
- Gonna bianca e lunga (White and long skirt)
- Feminine plural:
- Gonne bianche e lunghe (White and long skirts)
5. Italian adjectives ending in -io.
Adjectives in Italian that end in -io, have only one i in the masculine plural:
| Masculine singular | Masculine plural |
| Film serio Serious movie | Film seri Serious movies |
Adjectives must agree with the noun they refer to. When adjectives refer to nouns of different gender (masculine and feminine) they must be in the masculine plural form:
- Il ragazzo (m.s) e la ragazza (f.s) sono Italiani (m.pl).
- The boy and the girl are Italians.
- La macchina (f.s) e il fiore (m.s) sono rossi (m.pl).
- The car and the flower are red.
- La gonna (f.s) e il vestito (m.s) sono lunghi (m.pl)
- The skirt and the dress are long.
There are, however, some adjectives that do not change and have the same form for the masculine, the feminine, the plural, and the singular:
- Blu (blu)
- Rosa (pink)
- Viola (violet)
- Pari (even / equal)
- Dispari (uneven / unequal)
| Masculine singular | Masculine plural | Feminine singular | Feminine plural |
| Fiore rosa (pink flower) Vestito viola (purple dress) | Fiori rosa (pink flowers) Vestiti viola (purple dresses) | Gonna Blu (blue skirt) Borsa rosa (pink bag) | Gonne Blu (blue skirts) Borse rosa (pink bags) |
As we said before adjectives usually follow the noun, but the adjectives [questo (this) and quello (that)] are always used before the noun:
- Questo maglione è rosso (this sweater is red)
- Questa macchina è piccola (this car is small)
- Questi vestiti sono belli (these dresses are beautiful)
- Queste donne sono eleganti (these women are elegant)
The adjectives (quello and bello), used before the noun, have forms like those of the definite article:
| Masculine singular | Masculine plural | Feminine singular | Feminine plural |
| il (quel / bel) lo (quello / bello) l’ (quell’ / bell’) | i (quei / bei) gli (quegli / begli) | la (quella / bella) l’ (quell’ / bell’) | le (quelle / belle) |
The feminine form (bell’) is rarely used, the form (bella) is usually used:
| Sing. | Plur. | |
| Quello | Quel vestito (That dress) Quello Zaino (That Backpack) Quell’Orologio (That watch) Quella Maglia (That shirt) Quell’idea (That idea) | Quei Vestiti (Those dresses) Quegli Zaini (Those backpacks) Quegli Orologi (Those watches) Quelle maglie (Those shirts) Quelle idee (Those ideas) |
| Bello | Un Bel Vestito (One Beautiful dress) Un Bello Zaino (One nice backpack) Un Bell’orologio (One nice watch) Una Bella Maglia (One Beautiful sweater) Una Bella / (Bell’) Idea (One Beautiful idea) | Due Bei Vestiti (Two Beautiful Dresses) Due Begli Zaini (Two nice backpacks) Due Begli Orologi (Two nice watches) Due Belle Maglie (Two Beautiful Sweaters) Due Belle Idee (Two Beautiful ideas) |
When the adjective (Buono “Good”) is used before the noun, it has forms like those of the indefinite article:
| Masculine singular | Masculine plural: | Feminine singular: | Feminine plural: |
| (Un) Buon (Uno) Buono | (Dei/ degli) Buoni | (Una) Buona (Un’) Buon’ | (Delle) Buone |
The feminine form (buon’) is rarely used, the form (buona) is usually used:
- Un buon ristorante>> Due buoni ristoranti.
- One good restaurant >> Two good restaurants.
- Un buono studente >> Due buoni studenti.
- One good student >> Two good students.
- Una buona cena >> Due buone cene
- One good dinner >> Two dood dinners.
- Una buona / (buon’) idea >> Due buone idee
- One good idea >> Two good ideas
If the two adjectives (bello, buono) are after the noun, they follow the rule of normal adjectives which is (agree in gender and number).
Some words, such as (molto, tanto, poco, troppo) can be used before a noun, as adjectives, or together with a verb, adjective or adverb.
- Molto (very / much /many)
- Tanto (much / a lot/ many)
- Poco (little /bit)
- Troppo (too much)
When they are adjectives they have four forms (masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural, feminine plural), and they must agree in gender and number.
| Adjectives (before a noun) | Adverbs (after a verb) |
| Ho pochi libri (I have few books) Ho molta fame (I’m very hungry) Ho tante amiche (I have a lot of friends) | Parlo poco (I speak little) Mangia troppo (He /she eats too much) Carla è molto bella (Clara is very beautiful) Io sto poco bene (I’m not well) |
On the other hand, they have only one invariable form when they are adverbs.