A1.3 - Where are you from?

Italian articles: Il, Lo, La, I, Gli, Le

Gli articoli in italiano: Il, Lo, La, I, Gli, Le

Gli articoli indicano genere e numero.

(Articles indicate gender and number.)

What problem are articles solving?

  • Italian articles tell you gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) of the noun.

  • They also signal whether you mean the (specific/known) or a/some (new/not specific).

  • Main idea: choose the article by looking at the noun’s first sound and its gender/number.

Step-by-step: how to choose the correct article

  1. Definite (“the”) or indefinite (“a/some”)?

  2. Singular or plural?

  3. Gender of the noun (maschile/femminile)?

  4. Check the noun’s start:

    • vowel (a, e, i, o, u) → often l’ (definite) / un’ (indefinite feminine)

    • special start (s+consonant, z, gn, ps) → lo/uno (singular masc.), gli (plural masc.)

    • normal consonant → il/un (singular masc.), i (plural masc.)

The “special starts” that trigger lo / uno / gli

Use lo / uno (masculine singular) and gli (masculine plural) before:

  • s + consonant: lo studente, uno sport, gli studenti

  • z: lo zio, uno zaino, gli zii

  • gn: lo gnocco, gli gnocchi

  • ps: lo psicologo, uno psicologo, gli psicologi

Tip: if the first sound feels “heavy” (like st-, z-, gn-, ps-), you usually need lo/uno/gli.

Vowels: l’ and un’ (where learners often hesitate)

  • l’ = definite article before a vowel (masc. or fem. singular):

    • l’amico (the male friend)

    • l’amica (the female friend)

    • l’ufficio (the office)

  • un’ = indefinite article only for feminine singular nouns starting with a vowel:

    • un’amica, un’azienda, un’università

  • Masculine indefinite before a vowel is simply un:

    • un amico, un ufficio

Plural “some”: dei / degli / delle (think “some” = plural of un/uno/una)

Meaning Masculine plural Feminine plural

some (indefinite plural)

dei (normal consonant): dei ragazzi

degli (special start or vowel): degli studenti, degli amici

delle: delle città, delle amiche

Quick check: If you would say lo in singular, you need degli in plural. If you would say il, you need dei.

Common pitfalls (and how to self-correct fast)

  • Don’t choose by spelling only: it’s about the first sound.

  • studente starts with st- → special start:

    il studente → lo studente

  • città is feminine → la / una (even though it ends with -à):

    la città, una città, le città, delle città

  • un’ is not optional: use it when the feminine noun starts with a vowel:

    una amica → un’amica

60-second self-check before you answer

  1. Is it the (il/lo/la/l’) or a/some (un/uno/una/un’, dei/degli/delle)?

  2. Is the noun masculine or feminine?

  3. Is it singular or plural?

  4. Does it start with vowel or a special start (s+consonant, z, gn, ps)?

If you can answer these four questions, the article choice becomes automatic.

  1. Il, la are used before words that start with a consonant.
  2. Lo, uno and gli are used before words that start with s + consonant, z, gn, ps.
  3. In the plural, choose i, gli, le (definite) or dei, degli, delle (indefinite) following the same rule as the singular.
Articoli determinativi (Definite articles)Maschile (Masculine)Femminile (Feminine)
Singolare (Singular)Il
(Il ragazzo (The boy))		Lo
(Lo studente (The student))		La 
(La città (The city))
Plurale (Plural)I
(I ragazzi (The boys))		Gli
(Gli studenti (The students))		Le
(Le città (The cities)) 
Articoli indeterminativi (Indefinite articles) 
Singolare (Singular)Un, Uno
(Un ragazzo (A boy))
(Uno studente (A student))		Una
(Una città (A city)) 
Plurale 

Dei

(Dei ragazzi (Some boys))

Degli

(Degli studenti (Some students))

Delle

(Delle città (Some cities))

Exceptions!

  1. L’ is used before words that start with a vowel: L'amico / L'amica.
  2. Un' is used before feminine nouns that start with a vowel: un' amica.

Exercise 1: Multiple choice

Instruction: Choose the correct answer

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1. Di solito prendo ___ treno per andare in ufficio a Roma.

I usually take ___ train to go to the office in Rome.

2. Lavoro in ___ città molto internazionale, vicino alla Svizzera.

I work in ___ very international city, near Switzerland.

3. A Milano ho ___ amico portoghese e un'amica tedesca.

In Milan I have ___ Portuguese friend and a German friend.

4. ___ olandesi del mio corso di italiano vivono a Bologna.

___ Dutch people in my Italian course live in Bologna.

Exercise 2: Rewrite the phrases

Instruction: Rewrite the sentences using the correct article (definite or indefinite: il, lo, la, l’, i, gli, le, un, uno, una, un’). Example: Ho computer. → Ho un computer.

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Show/Hide translation Show/Hide hints
  1. Hint Hint (un) È ragazzo italiano.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    È un ragazzo italiano.
    (He is an Italian boy.)
  2. Hint Hint (il) Ragazzo è in ufficio.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Il ragazzo è in ufficio.
    (The boy is in the office.)
  3. Hint Hint (una) In classe c’è studentessa nuova.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    In classe c’è una studentessa nuova.
    (In class there is a new (female) student.)
  4. Hint Hint (l’) Studio in università di Milano.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Studio all’università di Milano.
    (I study at the University of Milan.)
  5. Hint Hint (l’) Oggi insegnante è assente.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Oggi l’insegnante è assente.
    (Today the teacher is absent.)
  6. Hint Hint (un’ / uno) Parlo con amica spagnola e con zio italiano.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Parlo con un’amica spagnola e con uno zio italiano.
    (I speak with a Spanish friend (female) and with an Italian uncle.)

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Fabio Pirioni

Bachelor in Humanities

University of Udine

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Last Updated:

Saturday, 18/04/2026 06:52