Learn how to determine the gender and number of Italian nouns
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Consuelo: Ciao |
| Marco: Marco, here. Absolute Beginner Session 1 Lesson 6: Would You Describe Me As Clumsy in Italian? |
| Consuelo: Hello, everyone. I’m Consuelo and welcome to ItalianPod101.com. |
| Marco: With us, you learn to speak Italian with fun and effective lessons. |
| Consuelo: We also provide you with cultural insights. |
| Marco: And tips you won’t find in a textbook. In today’s class, we will focus on the gender and number of Italian nouns and objectives. |
| Consuelo: This conversation takes place on the street. |
| Marco: The conversation is between Melissa and Alessio. |
| Consuelo: The speakers are friends, therefore, they will be speaking informally. |
| Marco: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Alessio: Ciao Melissa. Hai una bicicletta nuova? |
| Melissa: Sì, è nuova. |
| Alessio: E' comoda? |
| Melissa: Sì, sì, grazie. Oggi ho anche le scarpe nuove! |
| Alessio: Le scarpe sono molto carine. |
| Melissa: Sì ma, non sono comode! |
| Marco: Let’s hear it slowly now. |
| Alessio: Ciao Melissa. Hai una bicicletta nuova? |
| Melissa: Sì, è nuova. |
| Alessio: E' comoda? |
| Melissa: Sì, sì, grazie. Oggi ho anche le scarpe nuove! |
| Alessio: Le scarpe sono molto carine. |
| Melissa: Sì ma, non sono comode! |
| Marco: And now with the translation. |
| Alessio Ciao Melissa. Hai una bicicletta nuova? |
| Marco Hi Melissa. Have you got a new bicycle? |
| Melissa Sì, è nuova. |
| Marco Yes, it's new. |
| Alessio E' comoda? |
| Marco Is it comfortable? |
| Melissa Sì, sì, grazie. Oggi ho anche le scarpe nuove! |
| Marco Yes, yes, thank you. Today I also have new shoes! |
| Alessio Le scarpe sono molto carine. |
| Marco Those shoes are very cute. |
| Melissa Sì ma, non sono comode! |
| Marco Yes, but they're not comfortable! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Consuelo: Marco, did you know that Italian is spoken on five continents? |
| Marco: Is that true? I didn't know it. |
| Consuelo: Italian is obviously the official language in Italy, Switzerland, the Republic of San Marino, and the State of the Vatican. But you know, there are large Italian communities throughout the world. |
| Marco: Ah, I see…you're referring to those in Canada, the United States, Germany…wait, Australia of course, and…let me think… |
| Consuelo: And South America…Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela. |
| Marco: Venezuela? So, Consuelo, you're saying to our listeners they have a pretty good number of chances to speak Italian! |
| Consuelo: Sure, that's exactly what I'm saying. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we shall see is… |
| Consuelo bicicletta [natural native speed] |
| Marco bicycle |
| Consuelo bicicletta [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo bicicletta [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo nuovo [natural native speed] |
| Marco new |
| Consuelo nuovo [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo nuovo [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo oggi [natural native speed] |
| Marco today |
| Consuelo oggi [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo oggi [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo anche [natural native speed] |
| Marco too, also, as well |
| Consuelo anche [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo anche [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo carino [natural native speed] |
| Marco cute, pretty |
| Consuelo carino [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo carino [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo comodo [natural native speed] |
| Marco comfortable, convenient, easy, useful |
| Consuelo comodo [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo comodo [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| Marco: Consuelo, what word are we studying today? |
| Consuelo: That's the Italian word "comodo." |
| Marco: "Comfortable" or "convenient." |
| Consuelo: Please remember that in Italian the adjective follows the form of the noun it is referred to. So "questa sedia è molto comodA" means… |
| Marco: "This chair is very comfortable." I see you changed "comodo" into "comoda." |
| Consuelo: Exactly, because "sedia" is a feminine noun. But let's go back to the meaning of this adjective. In Italian, it means also "convenient." |
| Marco: So, if I want to say "the new line of the subway is very convenient," I should say… |
| Consuelo: "La nuova linea della metropolitana è molto comoda." |
| Marco: Ah okay. Also in this case you have to say "comoda" because "linea" is a feminine noun, right? |
| Consuelo: Yes, perfect, Marco. |
Lesson focus |
| Consuelo: Let's take a look at today's grammar point. |
| Marco: The focus of this lesson is on a general view of the gender and number of Italian nouns and adjectives. |
| Consuelo: Italian nouns have both gender (feminine and masculine) and number (singular and plural). |
| Marco: In the dialogue, we saw "scarpe," meaning "shoes." |
| Cosuelo: Its singular form is "scarpa," the "shoe." |
| Marco: Because it ends in "-a," it is a feminine noun. Now we're going to give you some guidelines for defining the gender of Italian nouns according to their ending vowel. |
| Consuelo: Yes, let's start! |
| Marco: In their singular form, if an Italian noun ends in "-o", it is likely masculine because the majority of these nouns are masculine. Such as… |
| Consuelo: "anno" |
| Marco: "year," |
| Consuelo: "tavolo" |
| Marco: "table," and |
| Consuelo: "libro" |
| Marco: "book." |
| Marco: On the other hand, if a noun's singular form ends in "-a," it is likely feminine because the majority of these nouns are feminine. |
| Consulo: Such as "bicicletta" |
| Marco: "bicycle," |
| Consuelo: "giacca" |
| Marco: "jacket," and |
| Consuelo: "tazza" |
| Marco: "cup." |
| Consuelo: But let's not forget that there's another big group with nouns ending in "-e." |
| Marco: About half of these nouns are masculine and half are feminine. |
| Consuelo: For example "pallone," meaning "ball," and "dente," meaning "tooth," are masculine. |
| Marco: While "televisione," meaning "television," and "voce," meaning "voice," are feminine. |
| Consuelo: In their plural form, Italian nouns change endings following basically the three rules we're going to tell you right now. |
| Marco: First rule. |
| Consuelo: Singular masculine "-o" changes to plural "-i." For example…"anni" |
| Marco: "years," |
| Consuelo: "tavoli" |
| Marco: "tables," and |
| Consielo "libri" |
| Marco: "books." |
| Marco: Second rule. |
| Consuelo: Singular "-a" changes to plural "-e" for feminine nouns. For example, "biciclette" |
| Marco: "bicycles," |
| Comsuelo: "giacche" |
| Marco: "jackets," and |
| Consuelo: "tazze" |
| Marco: "cups." |
| Marco: Third and last rule. |
| Consuelo: Singular "–e" nouns become "–i" in their plural form for both genders. For instance, masculine nouns, "palloni" |
| Marco: "balls" |
| Consuelo: and "denti" |
| Marco: "teeth." |
| Consuelo: Feminine plural nouns "televisioni" |
| Marco: "televisions" |
| Consuelo: and "voci" |
| Marco: "voices." |
| Marco: So how do Italians know the difference between masculine and feminine nouns? |
| Consuelo: Well, certainly by using them every day we know them by heart, but also because Italian articles help us. We shall see the articles in our next lesson. |
| Marco: Talking about adjectives, because Italian nouns have gender and number, adjectives must also have them. This is because they follow the nouns. |
| Consuelo: Oh yes. In the dialogue, we see "scarpe nuove," where the adjective "nuovo" changes to its feminine plural form to match "scarpa" in its plural form, "scarpe." |
| Consuelo: We suggest you study the lesson notes where you can find other useful examples and exceptions, which are very common in Italian. |
| Marco: That’s just about does it for today. Before we go, we want to tell you about a way to drastically improve your pronunciation. |
| Consuelo: The voice recording tool. |
| Marco: Yes, the voice recording tool in the premium learning center. |
| Consuelo: Record your voice with a click of the button |
| Marco: And then play it back just as easily. |
| Consuelo: So you record your voice and then listen to it. |
| Marco: Compare it to the native speakers. |
| Consuelo: And adjust your pronunciation. |
| Marco: This will help you improve your pronunciation fast. |
| Consuelo: Ciao |
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