italian adjectives

Turn Italian Adjectives into Nouns – Learn basic suffixes – Quiz

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Italian Adjectives into Nouns

Learn how to turn Italian Adjectives into nouns with a simple guide and a quiz

Look at the example:

  • alto —> altezza

In this case, the suffix –ezza changes the adjective alto into the noun altezza.

Let’s learn all the suffixes (in Italian suffissi) we can use for this purpose.

This is the first blog dedicated to Italian suffissi and their role in changing the function of words.

The final quiz consists of 50 adjectives that you will have to convert into nouns, following the patterns below. In accordance to the meaning of the suffix, you can obtain multiple nouns from the same adjective. For example:

  • alto —> altitudine

Altezza and altitudine have different meanings and both can be linked back to the adjective “alto”.

Look up the meaning of new words and feel free to add your comments. If you added a valid noun which is not included in the quiz, please write it in the comments and I’ll add it if it makes sense.

Let’s begin

  • –ezza

bello —> bellezza

triste —> tristezza

fermo —> fermezza

dolce —> dolcezza

  • –ìa (emphasis on “i”) Abstract nouns.

geloso —> gelosia

cortese —> cortesia

folle —> follia

malato —> malattia

  • –ia (emphasis on other syllables) Abstract nouns.

feroce —> ferocia

sagace —> sagacia

efficace —> efficacia

tenace —> tenacia

  • –ìzia / –uzia (emphasis on the penultimate syllable)

furbo —> furbizia

avaro —> avarizia

astuto —> astuzia

primo —> primizia

  •  –ità, –età, –tà (emphasis on the final “à”)

capace —> capacità

fedele —> fedeltà

sobrio —> sobrietà

buono —> bontà

  • –tudine

solo —> solitudine

simile —>similitudine

retto —>rettitudine

consueto —> consuetudine

  • –ura

bravo —> bravura

rotto —> rottura

cotto —> cottura

fritto —> frittura

  • –aggine

stupido —> stupidaggine

testardo —> testardaggine

lungo —> lungaggine

balordo —> balordaggine

  • –eria (emphasis on “I”)

sciatto —> sciatteria

carino —> carineria

cretino —> cretineria

galante —> galanteria

  • –ume  –  masculine

sudicio —> sudiciume

piatto —> piattume

dolce —> dolciume

marcio —> marciume

  • –anza / –enza –   feminine

Those come from adjectives   –ante / –ente.

arrogante —> arroganza

intelligente —> intelligenza

competente —> competenza

sapiente —> sapienza

  • –ismo – masculine

assente —> assenteismo

assoluto —> assolutismo

perfetto —> perfezionismo

fatale —> fatalismo

These are just a few examples of Italian adjectives turning into nouns. If their meaning isn’t clear, we can talk about it in class. Alla prossima!

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Painting: Juana Romani – Couverture Paris Noël – 1894

Italian adjectives for absolute beginners

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Italian adjectives, also known as “aggettivi qualificativi,” generally agree in gender and number with the nouns they refer to. In Italian, all nouns have a gender (masculine and feminine) and can be singular or plural

This is a very simplified classification, but it will show most of what you need to learn as an absolute beginner.

When consulting an Italian dictionary, you will typically find adjectives listed in their singular masculine form. There are three categories of adjectives: those ending in -o, those ending in -e, and those ending in -a.

Italian adjectives decline in the feminine and plural forms as follows:

1. Adjectives ending in -o:

– “-o” for the masculine singular (e.g., Antonio è bello).
– “-a” for the feminine singular (e.g., Lucia è bella).
– “-i” for the masculine plural (e.g., Antonio e Claudio sono belli).
– “-e” for the feminine plural (e.g., Lucia e Giorgia sono belle).

2. Adjectives ending in -e:

– “-e” for both the singular forms (e.g., Dario è intelligente, Stefania è intelligente).
– “-i” for the plural forms (e.g., Dario e Francesco sono intelligenti, Claudia e Marta sono intelligenti). Adjectives ending in “-e” do not differentiate between masculine and feminine genders. The distinction is determined by the noun itself or the accompanying article.

3. Additionally, there is a small number of invariable Italian adjectives that do not change regardless of gender or number. Examples include “rosa” (pink): la macchina è rosa, i vestiti sono rosa. Other examples are pari (even), dispari (odd), blu (blue), lilla (lilac), and viola (violet).

4. Adjectives ending in -ista: this is just an example of adjectives ending with a particular suffix. there are others and you will learn with experience.

– Adjectives keep the same in the singular form (e.g., Mauro è altruista, Elisa è altruista).
– Adjectives change in the plural form:
– “-i” for the masculine plural (e.g., Giulio e Luigi sono ottimisti).
– “-e” for the feminine plural (e.g., Michela e Giorgia sono pessimiste).

In this case, there is only one form for both the masculine and feminine singular, but two different forms for the plural.

The position of an adjective in a sentence can also alter its meaning in some cases. For example:
– “Luigi è un amico vecchio” means “Luigi is an old friend.”
– “Luigi è un vecchio amico” means “Luigi is an old man.”

Feel free to test your knowledge with the quiz above, and check your score at the end. If you’re interested, you can have a chance to win a coupon for an Italian Zoom class with a native teacher.

Ciao!

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L’Italia è bella! Aggettivi qualificativi – Quiz & Audio

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Adjectives, Italian aggettivi, are words that define, qualify or modify the meaning of a noun

This is a very basic Italian lesson, so I assume you are an absolute beginner. If you are not, try the quiz again and consolidate some vocabulary.

Aggettivi qualificativi are Italian adjectives, describing visible or abstract qualities of a noun.

  • l’Italia è bella

Italia is a feminine noun, “bella” is an adjective and agrees with the gender of the noun, so it’s singular and feminine too.

As a rule of thumb, we can classify aggettivi qualificativi in their singular masculine version and define the rules to make them feminine and plural.

Remember that most adjectives end in -o just like bello, so you can apply this rule with some confidence.

  • Il pomodoro è rosso.
  • La fragola è rossa.
  • I pomodori sono rossi.
  • Le fragole sono rosse.

Then we have a second minor type ending in -e like grande, where feminine and masculine are the same.

  • La casa è grande.
  • Lo stadio è grande.
  • Le case sono grandi.
  • Gli stadi sono grandi.

There are other types of aggettivi ending in -a. Please see the examples.

Some basic examples

  • L’abero è alto (the tree is tall).
  • I bambini sono simpatici (kids are funny).
  • Maria è bassa (Maria is short).
  • Le mele sono rosse (apples are red).

  • Giovanni è intelligente (Giovanni is Intelligent).
  • Gli elefanti sono pesanti (elephants are heavy).
  • La marmellata è dolce (jam is sweet).
  • Le foglie sono verdi (leaves are green).

  • Stefano è un idiota (Stefano is an idiot).
  • Daria è ottimista (Daria is optimist).
  • I bambini sono egoisti (kids are selfish).
  • Le mie amiche sono entusiate (my girlfriends are enthusiastic).

Grazie e alla prossima.

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