How to use gender and number concordance in Italian - La concordanza di genere e numero in italiano

If you are just starting to learn Italian, you have probably noticed that in this language words must 'go together'. This is called concordance, and it is a fundamental aspect of Italian grammar. Concordance is the connection between words such as articles, adjectives and nouns, which must match in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). If it seems a bit complicated at first, don't worry! With a little practice and attention, you will be able to master it. In this article, I will take you step-by-step through how concordance works, using clear and simple examples. This is the perfect opportunity to improve your Italian and start building correct sentences right from the start. So let's roll up our sleeves and see how it works!

1. Gender Concordance

In Italian, nouns and adjectives can be masculine or feminine.

For example:
Il gatto è nero. 
The noun ‘gatto’ is masculine, so the adjective ‘nero’ must also be masculine.

La casa è bella.
The noun ‘casa’ is feminine, so the adjective ‘bella’ must be feminine.

2. Concordance in number

• Words must also match in number, i.e. whether they are singular or plural.

For example:

Il libro è interessante.

There is only one book, so 'libro' and 'interessante' are singular.

I libri sono interessanti.
Several books, so both 'libri' and 'interessanti' are plural.

3. General guidelines

Here are some general rules to help you:

• Masculine nouns often end in -o in the singular and -i in the plural.

For example: 
Un ragazzo → due ragazzi

• Feminine nouns often end with -a in the singular and -e in the plural.

For example: 
Una ragazza → due ragazze

• Masculine adjectives follow the same rule:

For example: 
Un ragazzo alto→ Due ragazzi alti

• Feminine adjectives end with -a in the singular and -e in the plural:

For example: 
Una ragazza alta→  Due ragazze alte

4. Some exceptions

There are some words that do not follow the simple rules just mentioned:

• Words (nouns) ending in -e in the singular are the same for both masculine and feminine, but change to -i in the plural.

For example: 
Un fiore (masculine), una classe (feminine) → due fiori, due classi

•  Adjectives ending in -e

The reason why we say 'il libro è interessante' and not 'la sedia è interessanta' concerns a basic grammatical rule of the Italian language: some adjectives do not change form according to gender (masculine or feminine), but only according to number (singular or plural).

Adjectives such as 'interessante' end in -e in the singular, and do not vary between masculine and feminine. This means that 'interessante' is used for both masculine and feminine nouns.

For example: 
Masculine singular: Il libro è interessante.

Feminine singular: La sedia è interessante.

In the plural, only the number changes. The adjective 'interessante' changes only in the plural, becoming 'interessanti' for both genders:

For example: 
Masculine plural: I libri sono interessanti.

Feminine plural: Le sedie sono interessanti.

To sum up, the rule for these adjectives is that they remain unchanged in the singular and only change to -i in the plural.

To conclude 

Concordance in Italian is a very important aspect of the correct construction of sentences, both spoken and written. Paying close attention to gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) is essential to ensure that all the words in a sentence fit together and make sense. 

It may seem tricky at first, but with a little practice you will find that it becomes more intuitive over time.

Don't worry if you make mistakes at first - it's part of the learning process! The more you study and practise, the easier it will be to recognise patterns and apply them correctly. Soon you'll feel much more confident in your ability to form sentences with the correct concordance. 

So keep at it and don't give up! Remember, learning a language is a journey and every step forward is progress.

If you have any questions or would like to share your learning experience, please leave a comment below. I'm curious to know how you are progressing on your language journey!

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