The indefinite article - Easy Learning Grammar Italian
1 The basics
- In English the indefinite article is either a – a boy - or an - an apple.
- In Italian there are four indefinite articles: un, uno, una and un’.
- Which one you need to choose depends on the gender of the noun it goes with, and the letter the noun starts with.
- For more information on Nouns, see Nouns.
2 Which indefinite article do you use?
- The indefinite article to use for masculine nouns is:
- un with nouns starting with most consonants and all vowels.
| un telefonino | a mobile phone |
| un uomo | a man |
- uno with nouns starting with s + another consonant, z, gn, pn, ps, x and y.
| uno studente | a student |
| uno zio | an uncle |
| uno psichiatra | a psychiatrist |
- The indefinite article to use for feminine nouns is:
- una with nouns starting with a consonant.
| una ragazza | a girl |
| una mela | an apple |
- un’ with nouns starting with a vowel.
| un’ora | an hour |
| un’amica | a (girl)friend |
- Note that the article you choose depends on the first or first two letters of the following word, which can be an adjective or a noun.
| un albergo | a hotel |
| BUT | |
| uno splendido albergo | a magnificent hotel |
| uno scultore | a sculptor |
| BUT | |
| un bravo scultore | a good sculptor |
3 Using the indefinite article
- You generally use the indefinite article in Italian when a or an are used in English.
| Era con un’amica. | She was with a friend. |
| Vuoi un gelato? | Do you want an ice cream? |
- There are some cases where the article is used in English, but not in Italian:
- with the words cento and mille
| cento volte | a hundred times |
| mille sterline | a thousand pounds |
- when you translate a few or a lot
| qualche parola | a few words |
| molti soldi | a lot of money |
- in exclamations with che
| Che sorpresa! | What a surprise! |
| Che peccato! | What a pity! |
- Note that to say what someone’s job is you either leave out the article:
| È medico. | He’s a doctor. |
| Sono professori. | They’re teachers. |
| Faccio l’ingegnere. | I’m an engineer. |
| Fa l’avvocato. | She’s a lawyer. |
4 Plural nouns used without the article
- There are some cases where you use plural nouns without any article:
- in negative sentences
| Non ha amici. | He hasn’t got any friends. |
| Non ci sono posti liberi. | There aren’t any empty seats. |
- in questions where any is used in English
| Hai fratelli? | Have you got any brothers or sisters? |
| Ci sono problemi? | Are there any problems? |
- in lists
| Ci vogliono patate, cipolle e carote. | You need potatoes, onions and carrots. |
| Vendono giornali, riviste e cartoline. | They sell newspapers, magazines and postcards. |
- when you are not giving details
| Abbiamo visitato castelli e musei. | We visited castles and museums. |
| Ci sono cose da vedere. | There are things to see. |
| Hanno problemi. | They’ve got problems. |
Key points
- You generally use the indefinite article in a very similar way to English.
- You do not use it with the numbers cento and mille, and in exclamations with che.
- The indefinite article is not used when saying what someone’s job is.