Italian nouns (2)

As we have studied in the previous post, usually masculine nouns end with the vowel –o and feminine nouns end with the vowel –a. Nouns that end with the vowel –e, instead, can be masculine or feminine.
However, in Italian there are some nouns with particular ending that follow different rules and form the plural in a particular way.


NOUNS THAT END WITH –ISTA
In Italian there are some nouns that end with –ista, particularly those concerning professions. These nouns don’t change with the gender, so masculine and feminine nouns have the same form. But they change in the plural. Masculine nouns that end with –ISTA make the plural by changing the vowel –A with –I, while feminine nouns make the plural by changing the vowel –A with –E.

  • il / la giornalist(the journalist) i giornalisti le giornaliste
  • lo / la stilista (the fashion designer) gli stilisti le stiliste
  • il / la tennista (the tennis player) i tennisti le tenniste
  • il / la farmacista (the pharmacist) i farmacisti le farmaciste

Remember that some nouns that end with –ista don’t belong to this category but they are common feminine nouns (examples: rivista = magazine, intervista = interview, lista = list).


NOUNS THAT END WITH –CIA E –GIA
Nouns that end with –CIA and –GIA make the plural in a different way, depending on whether there is a vowel or a consonant before the final ending –cia and –gia. If there is a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) before, we can form the plural by changing the vowel –A with –E.

  • camicia / camicie = shirt / shirts
  • ciliegia / ciliegie = cherry / cherries
  • valigia / valigie = suitcase / suitcases

If there is a a consonant before –cia and –gia, we can form the plural by changing the vowel –A with –E, after we have cancelled the vowel -I.

  • arancia / arance = orange / oranges
  • roccia / rocce = rock / rocks
  • spiaggia / spiagge = beach / beaches
  • frangia / frange = fringe / fringes


NOUNS THAT END WITH –CO, –GO, –CA, –GA
Masculine nouns that end with –CO and –GO usually in the plural change the ending in –CHI and –GHI. The same rule apply to feminine nouns.

  • cuoco / cuochi = chef / chefs
  • fuoco / fuochi = fire / fires
  • parco / parchi = park / parks
  • albergo / alberghi = hotel / hotels
  • lago / laghi = lake / lakes
  • amica / amiche = friend / friends
  • fabbrica / fabbriche = factory / factories
  • strega / streghe = witch / witches


There are, however, many exceptions.
  • amico / amici = friend / friends
  • farmaco / farmaci = medicine / medicines
  • medico / medici = doctor / doctors
  • monaco / monaci = monk / monks
  • sindaco / sindaci = mayor / mayors