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Let’s say you have a dog and want to describe its appearance in Italian. Is it a small dog or a large dog? Is it brown or white? Are its ears pointed or floppy? Is it aloof, or is it everyone’s best friend?<\/p>\n
Small, big, brown<\/em>,\u00a0and aloof<\/em> are all adjectives.<\/p>\n To make your dog unique in Italian, you need to know how Italian adjectives work. Adjectives are an essential part of the language, and we use them to describe just about everything<\/strong>, so it’s important that you know how to use them correctly.<\/p>\n In this lesson, we will look at the rules for using adjectives in Italian, and we will also see two kinds of very common adjectives in the language.<\/p>\n Let’s get started!<\/p>\n First, let’s brush up on the definitions of adjective<\/em> and noun<\/em>: a noun is an object you can count or an abstract concept (table, house, sky, and speed<\/em> are all nouns), while adjectives are used to describe nouns (round table, big house, blue sky, fast speed<\/em>).<\/p>\n Just like English adjectives, Italian adjectives are used to describe something (aggettivo qualificativo<\/strong>) or to talk about something specific (aggettivo determinativo<\/strong>), as in:<\/p>\n They can modify the noun directly without using a verb:<\/p>\n Or they can be linked to the noun by a verb, like essere<\/strong>, to be, and sembrare<\/strong>, to look. This kind of linking verb is called a copula<\/em>, and the adjective always comes after it, just like in English.<\/p>\n Qualifying Italian adjectives are usually placed after the noun, while determining adjectives will go before the noun.<\/strong><\/p>\n There are a few exceptions to these rules. Notable exceptions<\/strong> are colors, shapes, and nationalities<\/strong>, which must always follow the noun.<\/p>\n Numbers<\/strong>, on the other hand, always come before the noun. This includes ordinal numbers.<\/p>\n Other adjectives have a very slight change in meaning depending on where they are placed in the sentence.<\/p>\n You probably already know that Italian nouns have two genders, masculine and feminine<\/strong>, and two numbers, singular and plural<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Well, Italian adjectives have genders and numbers<\/strong> too! They must match the gender and number of the noun. If the noun is plural, the adjective will be plural. If the noun is masculine, the adjective will be in its masculine form, and so on.<\/p>\n So you have four different forms for any given Italian adjective, as shown in the tables below.<\/p>\n Note that the form that is found in dictionaries is the masculine singular form<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Examples:<\/p>\n Common adjectives that follow this pattern are:<\/p>\n A large number of Italian adjectives end in -e. These adjectives change only in the plural, as they have the same singular form for both genders:<\/p>\n<\/a>How do you use Italian adjectives?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\n<\/strong> The dog is big<\/em> and has white<\/em> fur. (describing)<\/li>\n
\n<\/strong>This<\/em> is my<\/em> dog. (determining)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\n<\/b>The black cat sleeps.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\n<\/b>The teacher is strict.<\/span><\/li>\n
\n<\/b>You look tired.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/a>Where to put Italian adjectives<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\n<\/b>A white table, a green leaf, a tall tree, an English man…<\/span><\/li>\n
\n<\/b>A round cushion, a square box…<\/span><\/li>\n
\n<\/b>This cat, three chairs, my dogs, this lamp…<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\n<\/b>Two hands, three glasses, four wheels…<\/span><\/li>\n
\n<\/b>The first time, the second page, the third crossroads…<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\n<\/b>An old friend – “someone you’ve known for a long time”<\/span><\/li>\n
\n<\/strong> An old friend – “an elderly friend”<\/li>\n
\n<\/strong> My old car – “the car I previously owned”<\/li>\n
\n<\/strong> My old car – “I have more than one car and one of them is old”<\/li>\n
\n<\/strong> A poor man – “a pitiful and unlucky man”<\/li>\n
\n<\/strong> A poor man – “a man without money”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/a>Italian adjectives and their forms<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n\n
\n nero<\/strong>, black<\/td>\n sing.<\/td>\n pl.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n masc.<\/td>\n nero<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n neri<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n fem.<\/td>\n nera<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n nere<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \n\n
\n questo<\/strong>, this<\/td>\n sing.<\/td>\n pl.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n masc.<\/td>\n questo<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n questi<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n fem.<\/td>\n questa<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n queste<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \n
\n<\/strong> This cat is aggressive.<\/li>\n
\n<\/strong> These cats are aggressive.<\/li>\n
\n<\/strong> This chair is uncomfortable.<\/li>\n
\n<\/strong> These chairs are uncomfortable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\n\n
\n felice<\/strong>, happy<\/td>\n