Italian nouns

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 articoli partitivi, “some” in Italian – QUIZ

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Articoli partitivi are used to indicate a part, a number out of a total. Some…

This is a very short and simple article for beginners. I’m going to introduce a simple way for you to indicate a quantity, pretty much equivalent the English “some”.

The Italian articoli partitivi are obtained by adding the preposition di (of) to the articoli determinativi:

di + …

il —> del

lo —> dello

la —> della

i —> dei

gli —> degli

le —> delle

l’ —> dell’

Il vino: vorrei del vino

Lo zucchero: ho comprato dello zucchero

La carne: mangerei della carne

I fiori: le ho regalato dei fiori

Gli amici: ho invitato degli amici

Le uova: Vai a comprare delle uova

L’aglio: Aggiungi dell’aglio al sugo

Singular Articoli Partitivi are used in combination with uncountable nouns, in Italian nomi di massa), words such as: foods – acqua, vino, formaggio, verdura, carne – etc ; materials: legno, carta etc.

In spoken Italian, instead of using the articoli partitivi, often times we can use “un po’ di”, literally “a little of” (quantity).

So for example, instead of saying, “ho mangiato dei cioccolatini” I can simply say “ho mangiato un po’ di cioccolatini”.

Here’s a simple quiz for you. Please answer anche check your score against the average.

Alla prossima

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Italian articles – Basic Rules & Quiz

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Italian articles are of 2 types: determinativi (definite) and indeterminativi (indefinite)

All Italian articles agree in gender and number with a noun. There are 2 genders in the Italian language: maschile (masculine) and femminile (feminine) and they can be singular or plural.

  • The articolo determinativo, in Italian, is used to introduce nouns which refer to specific items. They are equivalent to the English “the“.
  • Same for the articolo indeterminativo, equivalent to the English “a” referring generically to an object.

Depending on the gender and number of the object they describe, articles change.

For example, we can say, La casa è grande, the house is big, using the article LA, singular feminine, because the noun casa is singular feminine. We are clearly referring to a specific house, because LA is an articolo determinativo. The house.

If we say, Vorrei una casa grande, I’d like a big house, we use the article UNA, singular feminine. In this case we need to use UNA, articolo indeterminativo, just “a” house.

Let’s see them all in detail.

Articoli determinativi

Articoli determinativi maschili – Masculine Definite Articles

il and its plural i are the most used

  • il cane, i cani

Lo, and its plural Gli are exceptions, used in the following cases: masculine nouns beginning with: a vowel, s + consonant, z, gn, ps, pn.

  • L’amico, Gli amici
  • Lo studente, Gli studenti
  • Lo zaino, Gli zaini
  • Lo gnocco, Gli gnocchi
  • Lo psichiatra, Gli psichiatri
  • Lo pneumatico, Gli pneumatici

The first case, masculine noun beginning with a vowel, is by far the most common case where we need Lo (L’) and Gli. S + consonant and Z are pretty common, the last three are rare, so don’t worry too much.

A classic example is lo spazio, gli spazi. In case of a vowel we use L’amico

Articoli determinativi femminili – Feminine Definite Articles

Feminine articles, are less complicated. We have la singolare and le plurale.

  • La casa, Le case

In case of a noun beginning with a vowel we use L’ because of the smoother sound.

  • L’amica, Le amiche

Articoli indeterminativi

Articolo indeterminativo maschile UN, is by far the most used, for all masculine nouns beginning with a vowel or a consonant

  • Un amico
  • Un cane

Articolo indeterminativo maschile UNO, not used together with nouns beginning with a vowel (uno amico —> un amico). Other that that, it matches the cases valid with “Lo”: s + consonant, z, gn, ps, pn:

  • Uno studente
  • Uno zaino
  • Uno gnocco
  • Uno psichiatra
  • Uno pneumatico

Articolo indeterminativo femminile UNA, is used for all feminine nouns, except when they begin with a vowel, in which case we use the truncated form UN’. So, we can say una casa, but un’amica , a female friend:

  • Una casa
  • Un’amica

Please take your time, solve the quiz below and repeat the correct sounds. A presto.

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