{"id":59917,"date":"2026-05-13T17:27:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T08:27:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/?p=59917"},"modified":"2026-05-13T19:52:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T10:52:23","slug":"italian-neuter-plurals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/italian-neuter-plurals\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian Neuter Plurals: Uovo, Uova, Braccio, Braccia (B1)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>An Italian doctor in Padova asks you to lift <em>le braccia<\/em>. A waiter at a Lucca trattoria announces the special: <em>uova al tartufo<\/em>. A friend texts that she has <em>i ginocchi rotti dalla corsa<\/em>, but the orthopaedist&#8217;s report will write <em>le ginocchia infiammate<\/em>. The same noun, two different plural endings, two different gender agreements. Welcome to <strong>italian neuter plurals<\/strong>, the small but real corner of Italian grammar where masculine singulars turn feminine in the plural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This guide walks through <strong>italian neuter plurals<\/strong> for the B1 learner: which nouns belong to this family, why <em>braccia<\/em> is feminine while <em>braccio<\/em> is masculine, when to choose <em>-a<\/em> over <em>-i<\/em>, and the neat semantic split between literal body parts and figurative meanings. By the end you will read <em>le ossa<\/em>, <em>le dita<\/em>, <em>le paia<\/em> without hesitation and you will know exactly when a builder says <em>i muri<\/em> rather than <em>le mura<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" \/>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-toc-np\"><div class=\"gb-inside-container\">\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-toc-head-np gb-headline-text\">Cosa impareremo oggi<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">&#x1F446;&#x1F3FB;<br>Jump to sections<\/p>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" \/>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#one-liner\">Italian neuter plurals in one line<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#history\">The Latin neuter that left a trace<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#body-parts\">Body parts: braccia, ginocchia, dita<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#dual\">Dual plurals: -a vs -i and the meaning shift<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#collectives\">Collectives: ossa, paia, miglia, risa<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#numbers\">Centinaia, migliaia, decine<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#agreement\">Agreement with feminine plural articles and adjectives<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#mistakes\">Common mistakes<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#literature\">In literature and proverbs<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#cheat-sheet\">Cheat sheet<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#dialogue\">Dialogue: at the doctor&#8217;s office in Padova<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#quiz\">Test yourself<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#faq\">FAQ<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-one-np gb-headline-text\" id=\"one-liner\">Italian neuter plurals in one line<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Italian neuter plurals<\/strong> are a small family of nouns that are masculine in the singular but feminine in the plural, and they take a feminine plural ending in <em>-a<\/em> instead of the regular masculine <em>-i<\/em>. The clearest example is <em>uovo<\/em> (one egg, masculine) which becomes <em>uova<\/em> (eggs, feminine). The article and the adjective shift with the noun: <em>l&#8217;uovo fresco<\/em>, <em>le uova fresche<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>il braccio destro<\/em> \u2192 <em>le braccia destre<\/em> (the right arm \u2192 the right arms)<\/li>\n<li><em>il ginocchio dolorante<\/em> \u2192 <em>le ginocchia doloranti<\/em> (the sore knee \u2192 the sore knees)<\/li>\n<li><em>l&#8217;uovo sodo<\/em> \u2192 <em>le uova sode<\/em> (the hard-boiled egg \u2192 the hard-boiled eggs)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The gender shift surprises every learner the first time. The pattern is not random: it traces back to Latin, where these nouns were neuter, and Italian has preserved the historical neuter plural ending <em>-a<\/em> while reanalysing it as feminine. Understanding the origin makes the rest easier to remember.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-hist-np gb-headline-text\" id=\"history\">The Latin neuter that left a trace<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Classical Latin had three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. When Latin evolved into the Romance languages, the neuter gradually merged into the masculine in the singular. Most Latin neuter nouns ended up masculine in modern Italian: <em>tempo<\/em> (from <em>tempus<\/em>), <em>nome<\/em> (from <em>nomen<\/em>), <em>vino<\/em> (from <em>vinum<\/em>) all sit comfortably in the masculine category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A small subgroup, however, kept the original Latin neuter plural ending <em>-a<\/em>, which historically came from the nominative-accusative plural of the second declension neuters. Italian reanalysed this <em>-a<\/em> as a feminine plural marker, because <em>-a<\/em> looks feminine in modern Italian morphology. The result is the modern paradox: masculine in the singular, feminine in the plural. <strong>Italian neuter plurals<\/strong> are linguistic fossils of the Latin neuter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This explains the gender swap and also why these nouns tend to refer to things that come in natural pairs or sets (body parts, pairs of objects, collectives). The Latin neuter often denoted collective or paired entities, and Italian preserves this semantic flavour in the surviving forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-bp-np gb-headline-text\" id=\"body-parts\">Body parts: braccia, ginocchia, dita, ciglia, labbra<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The most common <strong>italian neuter plurals<\/strong> describe body parts that come in pairs or sets. Hands, fingers, eyelashes, lips, knees, arms: Italian remembers them with feminine plurals even though the singular noun looks masculine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>il braccio<\/em> (the arm) \u2192 <em>le braccia<\/em> (the arms)<\/li>\n<li><em>il dito<\/em> (the finger) \u2192 <em>le dita<\/em> (the fingers)<\/li>\n<li><em>il ginocchio<\/em> (the knee) \u2192 <em>le ginocchia<\/em> (the knees)<\/li>\n<li><em>il ciglio<\/em> (the eyelash) \u2192 <em>le ciglia<\/em> (the eyelashes)<\/li>\n<li><em>il labbro<\/em> (the lip) \u2192 <em>le labbra<\/em> (the lips)<\/li>\n<li><em>l&#8217;osso<\/em> (the bone) \u2192 <em>le ossa<\/em> (the bones, the skeleton)<\/li>\n<li><em>il sopracciglio<\/em> (the eyebrow) \u2192 <em>le sopracciglia<\/em> (the eyebrows)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A medical exam in any Italian hospital will produce a small flood of these forms. The doctor asks the patient <em>alza le braccia<\/em>, <em>piega le ginocchia<\/em>, <em>apri le labbra<\/em>. The orthopaedic report writes <em>le ossa del piede<\/em>. Beauty salons advertise <em>trattamenti per le ciglia<\/em>. Across every register where the human body is discussed, <strong>italian neuter plurals<\/strong> are the default.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-task-np-1\"><div class=\"gb-inside-container\">\n\n<p>\ud83c\udfaf <strong>Mini-task:<\/strong> Choose the correct feminine plural for each body part.<\/p>\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Alzi (i bracci \/ le braccia), per favore.<\/li>\n<li>Si \u00e8 rotto (i diti \/ le dita) della mano destra.<\/li>\n<li>Mi fanno male (i ginocchi \/ le ginocchia).<\/li>\n<li>Le sue (cigli \/ ciglia) sono molto lunghe.<\/li>\n<li>Pulisci bene (le ossi \/ le ossa) prima di cucinarle.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n<details><summary><strong>\ud83d\udc49 Show answers<\/strong><\/summary>\n<p>1. <em>le braccia<\/em>. 2. <em>le dita<\/em>. 3. <em>le ginocchia<\/em>. 4. <em>ciglia<\/em>. 5. <em>le ossa<\/em>. All five take the feminine plural in <em>-a<\/em> because they refer to body parts.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-dual-np gb-headline-text\" id=\"dual\">Dual plurals: -a vs -i and the meaning shift<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is where <strong>italian neuter plurals<\/strong> become genuinely interesting. Many of these nouns have two plurals, one feminine in <em>-a<\/em> and one regular masculine in <em>-i<\/em>, and the choice depends on meaning. Body parts and natural pairs take the feminine. Figurative or specialised meanings take the masculine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<table>\n<thead><tr><th>Singular<\/th><th>Feminine plural (-a)<\/th><th>Masculine plural (-i)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr><td><em>braccio<\/em><\/td><td><em>le braccia<\/em> (body, arms)<\/td><td><em>i bracci<\/em> (figurative: arm of a crane, of the sea)<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><em>ciglio<\/em><\/td><td><em>le ciglia<\/em> (eyelashes)<\/td><td><em>i cigli<\/em> (edges of a road)<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><em>corno<\/em><\/td><td><em>le corna<\/em> (animal horns)<\/td><td><em>i corni<\/em> (musical horns)<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><em>filo<\/em><\/td><td><em>le fila<\/em> (rows, lines, threads of a plot)<\/td><td><em>i fili<\/em> (threads, wires)<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><em>fondamento<\/em><\/td><td><em>le fondamenta<\/em> (building foundations)<\/td><td><em>i fondamenti<\/em> (principles, basic ideas)<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><em>grido<\/em><\/td><td><em>le grida<\/em> (collective shouts)<\/td><td><em>i gridi<\/em> (individual cries)<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><em>membro<\/em><\/td><td><em>le membra<\/em> (limbs of a body)<\/td><td><em>i membri<\/em> (members of a group)<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><em>muro<\/em><\/td><td><em>le mura<\/em> (city walls, defensive walls)<\/td><td><em>i muri<\/em> (individual walls of a house)<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><em>osso<\/em><\/td><td><em>le ossa<\/em> (the skeleton as a whole)<\/td><td><em>gli ossi<\/em> (animal bones, butcher&#8217;s bones)<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><em>urlo<\/em><\/td><td><em>le urla<\/em> (collective screams)<\/td><td><em>gli urli<\/em> (individual screams)<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n<p>The Accademia della Crusca confirms the rule: feminine plural for body parts and the natural literal meaning; masculine plural for figurative, mechanical, or technical uses. A construction worker building a house counts <em>i muri<\/em>. The same worker walking past Lucca&#8217;s medieval defences admires <em>le mura<\/em>. Same noun, different plural, different idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-coll-np gb-headline-text\" id=\"collectives\">Collectives: ossa, paia, miglia, risa<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A second group of <strong>italian neuter plurals<\/strong> refers to collective wholes or pairs. These nouns rarely take the masculine alternative because their meaning is inherently collective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>il paio<\/em> (a pair) \u2192 <em>le paia<\/em> (pairs)<\/li>\n<li><em>il miglio<\/em> (a mile, measurement) \u2192 <em>le miglia<\/em> (miles)<\/li>\n<li><em>il riso<\/em> (a laugh) \u2192 <em>le risa<\/em> (laughter, plural of laughs)<\/li>\n<li><em>lo staio<\/em> (a bushel, old measure) \u2192 <em>le staia<\/em> (bushels)<\/li>\n<li><em>il centinaio<\/em> (a hundred) \u2192 <em>le centinaia<\/em> (hundreds)<\/li>\n<li><em>il migliaio<\/em> (a thousand) \u2192 <em>le migliaia<\/em> (thousands)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These collective neuter plurals show up constantly in everyday Italian. A shopper buys <em>due paia di scarpe<\/em>. A runner trains for <em>dieci miglia<\/em>. A speaker addresses <em>centinaia di persone<\/em>. Without these forms you cannot count or quantify naturally in Italian. They are not optional grammar trivia: they are core B1 vocabulary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-num-np gb-headline-text\" id=\"numbers\">Centinaia, migliaia, decine: counting in approximate quantities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The numerical collectives deserve their own moment. <em>Centinaia<\/em> (hundreds), <em>migliaia<\/em> (thousands), and the cousin <em>decine<\/em> (tens, from <em>decina<\/em>) are how Italians express &#8220;hundreds of&#8221;, &#8220;thousands of&#8221;, &#8220;tens of&#8221; without naming an exact number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>centinaia di euro<\/em> (hundreds of euros)<\/li>\n<li><em>migliaia di persone<\/em> (thousands of people)<\/li>\n<li><em>decine di anni fa<\/em> (decades ago, literally &#8220;tens of years ago&#8221;)<\/li>\n<li><em>migliaia di chilometri<\/em> (thousands of kilometres)<\/li>\n<li><em>centinaia di volte<\/em> (hundreds of times)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The construction is always <em>centinaia\/migliaia\/decine + di + plural noun<\/em>. The verb agrees with the collective noun in the feminine plural: <em>centinaia di persone sono arrivate<\/em>, &#8220;hundreds of people have arrived&#8221;. Note the feminine plural agreement on the past participle. <strong>Italian neuter plurals<\/strong> in this group function like the English &#8220;scores of&#8221; or &#8220;hundreds of&#8221; but with stricter agreement rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-agr-np gb-headline-text\" id=\"agreement\">Agreement with feminine plural articles and adjectives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Once a noun in the <strong>italian neuter plurals<\/strong> family goes plural, everything around it agrees in the feminine plural. The article switches from <em>il\/lo\/l&#8217;<\/em> to <em>le<\/em>. Adjectives take feminine plural endings. Past participles in compound tenses follow the same rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>il braccio destro<\/em> (sg, masc) \u2192 <em>le braccia destre<\/em> (pl, fem)<\/li>\n<li><em>l&#8217;uovo fresco<\/em> (sg, masc) \u2192 <em>le uova fresche<\/em> (pl, fem)<\/li>\n<li><em>il labbro screpolato<\/em> (sg, masc) \u2192 <em>le labbra screpolate<\/em> (pl, fem)<\/li>\n<li><em>il ginocchio gonfio<\/em> (sg, masc) \u2192 <em>le ginocchia gonfie<\/em> (pl, fem)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This double agreement is the tricky part for learners. You have to remember the article change <em>il \u2192 le<\/em>, the noun ending change <em>-o \u2192 -a<\/em>, and the adjective change to feminine plural. Three changes in one move. The good news: once you have them, they apply to every neuter plural in the same way.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-task-np-2\"><div class=\"gb-inside-container\">\n\n<p>\ud83c\udfaf <strong>Mini-task:<\/strong> Decide between feminine and masculine plural based on meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Il falegname costruisce (i muri \/ le mura) della casa nuova.<\/li>\n<li>Visiteremo (i muri \/ le mura) medievali di Lucca.<\/li>\n<li>L&#8217;orchestra ha (i corni \/ le corna) molto sonori.<\/li>\n<li>Il toro ha (i corni \/ le corna) lunghi.<\/li>\n<li>Studiamo (i fondamenti \/ le fondamenta) della filosofia.<\/li>\n<li>Hanno scavato (i fondamenti \/ le fondamenta) per il nuovo palazzo.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n<details><summary><strong>\ud83d\udc49 Show answers<\/strong><\/summary>\n<p>1. <em>i muri<\/em> (individual walls of a house). 2. <em>le mura<\/em> (defensive walls, collective). 3. <em>i corni<\/em> (musical instruments). 4. <em>le corna<\/em> (animal horns). 5. <em>i fondamenti<\/em> (principles). 6. <em>le fondamenta<\/em> (foundations of a building).<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-mis-np gb-headline-text\" id=\"mistakes\">Common mistakes with italian neuter plurals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Three errors recur in B1 essays when learners first meet this family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Treating them as regular masculine plurals.<\/strong> Writing <em>i bracci<\/em> when you mean human arms is the classic mistake. The feminine <em>le braccia<\/em> is the correct form for the body. Save <em>i bracci<\/em> for cranes, rivers, and metaphors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Forgetting the feminine adjective agreement.<\/strong> Writing <em>le braccia destri<\/em> instead of <em>le braccia destre<\/em>. Once the noun is feminine plural, every adjective around it must take feminine plural endings. The article tells you what to do: <em>le<\/em> demands feminine plural everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Using the wrong plural for collective expressions.<\/strong> Saying <em>migliaie<\/em> or <em>centinaie<\/em> instead of <em>migliaia<\/em> and <em>centinaia<\/em>. The ending is <em>-a<\/em>, not <em>-e<\/em>. These are neuter plurals fossilised in <em>-a<\/em>, not feminine nouns ending in <em>-aia<\/em>. Remember the <em>-a<\/em>: <em>migliaia di persone<\/em>, <em>centinaia di volte<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-lit-np gb-headline-text\" id=\"literature\">Italian neuter plurals in literature and proverbs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>These forms are not academic curiosities. They live in active literary use and in many fixed proverbs. Dante writes <em>le braccia<\/em> when he describes souls reaching out, Manzoni uses <em>le ginocchia<\/em> when characters fall to pray, Primo Levi uses <em>le ossa<\/em> in <em>Se questo \u00e8 un uomo<\/em> when describing the camps. Every page of Italian fiction set in human bodies hits these forms regularly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Proverbs and fixed expressions also lean on neuter plurals. <em>Chi non risica non rosica<\/em> is unrelated, but <em>cose dell&#8217;altro mondo<\/em>, <em>tirare le cuoia<\/em> (to die, literally &#8220;to pull the leather&#8221;), <em>essere in ginocchio davanti a qualcuno<\/em>, <em>spezzare le braccia a qualcuno<\/em>, and dozens of others use neuter plurals. Learning the forms gives you access to a whole layer of idiomatic Italian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The same is true for everyday set phrases: <em>a braccia aperte<\/em> (with open arms, welcomingly), <em>a quattr&#8217;occhi<\/em> uses <em>occhi<\/em> (which is a regular masculine plural, by contrast), <em>in ginocchio<\/em> (on one&#8217;s knees), <em>uova al tegamino<\/em>, <em>uova strapazzate<\/em>. Once you spot the pattern, you start recognising it in restaurant menus, in songs, in newspaper headlines about football where <em>le braccia in alto<\/em> celebrate a goal. Italian songwriters reach for these forms naturally too: Lucio Battisti sang of <em>le mura del giardino<\/em>, Fabrizio De Andr\u00e9 wrote of <em>le ossa<\/em> and <em>le braccia<\/em> in his ballads about marginal lives. The forms carry a folk-poetic charge that the regular masculine plurals lack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p>For learners, a practical reading strategy: when you encounter a feminine plural ending in <em>-a<\/em> with article <em>le<\/em>, check whether the underlying singular is in <em>-o<\/em>. If yes, you are looking at a neuter plural and the noun is masculine in singular. This quick check spares you from misclassifying the gender of a word you have only met in plural form. Beauty product labels say <em>balsamo per le labbra<\/em>: the singular is <em>il labbro<\/em>, masculine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-ch-np gb-headline-text\" id=\"cheat-sheet\">Italian neuter plurals at a glance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<table>\n<thead><tr><th>Question<\/th><th>Answer<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr><td>What are they?<\/td><td>Nouns masculine in singular, feminine in plural, ending in <em>-a<\/em><\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Why this pattern?<\/td><td>Latin neuter plural <em>-a<\/em>, reanalysed as feminine in modern Italian<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Typical members?<\/td><td>Body parts (braccia, dita, ginocchia, labbra, ciglia, ossa), collectives (paia, miglia, risa), quantifiers (centinaia, migliaia)<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Article shift?<\/td><td><em>il\/lo\/l&#8217; \u2192 le<\/em><\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Adjective agreement?<\/td><td>Feminine plural everywhere<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Dual plural?<\/td><td>Many have <em>-a<\/em> (literal\/collective) and <em>-i<\/em> (figurative): braccia\/bracci, ciglia\/cigli, mura\/muri<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Number?<\/td><td>Around 30 active nouns in modern Italian<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-dlg-np gb-headline-text\" id=\"dialogue\">Dialogue: at the doctor&#8217;s office in Padova<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Valeria is at a routine medical check-up in Padova. Doctor Lorenzo is examining her. The conversation is full of <strong>italian neuter plurals<\/strong> because the body offers a textbook display of them.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-dlg-np\"><div class=\"gb-inside-container\">\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffc\u200d\ud83e\uddb0 <strong>Lorenzo:<\/strong> <em>Buongiorno Valeria. Allora, alziamo le braccia e poi piega le ginocchia, per favore.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffd\u200d\ud83e\uddb1 <strong>Valeria:<\/strong> <em>Le ginocchia destre mi danno un po&#8217; di fastidio quando le piego.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffc\u200d\ud83e\uddb0 <strong>Lorenzo:<\/strong> <em>Le dita della mano funzionano bene? Provi a chiudere il pugno.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffd\u200d\ud83e\uddb1 <strong>Valeria:<\/strong> <em>Le dita s\u00ec, ma a volte ho le labbra screpolate, soprattutto d&#8217;inverno.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffc\u200d\ud83e\uddb0 <strong>Lorenzo:<\/strong> <em>Capita. Beva pi\u00f9 acqua. Ora controlliamo le ciglia e gli occhi.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffd\u200d\ud83e\uddb1 <strong>Valeria:<\/strong> <em>Le ciglia? Ci sono problemi?<\/em><\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffc\u200d\ud83e\uddb0 <strong>Lorenzo:<\/strong> <em>Solo controllo di routine. Tutto bene. E le ossa, qualche dolore?<\/em><\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffd\u200d\ud83e\uddb1 <strong>Valeria:<\/strong> <em>Le ossa no, ma mi fanno male le ginocchia dopo la corsa.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffc\u200d\ud83e\uddb0 <strong>Lorenzo:<\/strong> <em>Le faccio una lastra per vedere le ginocchia. Niente di grave, probabilmente.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Three things to notice. Lorenzo and Valeria use <em>le braccia, le ginocchia, le dita, le labbra, le ciglia, le ossa<\/em> seven times in nine turns. All feminine plurals because the context is the human body. Adjectives agree throughout: <em>le ginocchia destre<\/em>, <em>le labbra screpolate<\/em>. The dialogue stages the everyday medical Italian that any tourist would meet at a check-up or in an emergency room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-quiz-np gb-headline-text\" id=\"quiz\">Test yourself<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A short quiz on <strong>italian neuter plurals<\/strong>. Drag-and-drop, multiple choice, fill-in-the-blanks. Five questions, no time limit.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-quiz-box-np\"><div class=\"gb-inside-container\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-faq-np gb-headline-text\" id=\"faq\">FAQ on italian neuter plurals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Seven questions B1 learners ask when they first meet this family of plurals.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list \">\n<div id=\"faq-np-1\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Why is braccio masculine and braccia feminine?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Because braccio is one of the Italian nouns that preserved the Latin neuter plural ending -a, which Italian then reanalysed as feminine. The singular kept the masculine form (il braccio), the plural became feminine (le braccia). The same pattern applies to uovo, dito, ginocchio, ciglio, labbro, osso and around 20 other nouns.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-np-2\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">What is the difference between braccia and bracci?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Braccia (feminine plural) refers to the human body: le braccia di una persona. Bracci (regular masculine plural) refers to figurative or technical meanings: i bracci di una gru (the arms of a crane), i bracci di mare (sea inlets), i bracci di una leva (the arms of a lever). The Accademia della Crusca confirms this split.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-np-3\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Is it i ginocchi or le ginocchia?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Both are correct but they mean slightly different things. Le ginocchia (feminine plural) is the standard form for the body parts as a natural pair: mi fanno male le ginocchia. I ginocchi (masculine plural) is occasionally used in regional speech or for individual knees considered separately, but it is rarer and slightly informal.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-np-4\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Why is le ossa different from gli ossi?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Le ossa refers to the human skeleton as a whole or to bones considered as parts of a body: le ossa del piede, le ossa rotte. Gli ossi refers to individual bones in a butcher or veterinary context: gli ossi del cane, gli ossi del brodo. The feminine plural is anatomical; the masculine plural is more concrete and detached.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-np-5\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">How do I form the plural of paio, miglio, centinaio?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Paio becomes paia (le paia di scarpe). Miglio becomes miglia (le miglia di strada). Centinaio becomes centinaia (centinaia di persone). Same pattern: masculine singular in -o, feminine plural in -a. These are collective neuter plurals used for counting and approximating.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-np-6\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Do adjectives agree with neuter plurals in the feminine?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Yes. Once the noun is feminine plural, every adjective, past participle and modifier around it takes feminine plural endings: le braccia destre, le uova fresche, le ginocchia gonfie. The article tells you what to do: le demands feminine plural agreement throughout the sentence.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-np-7\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">How many italian neuter plurals are there?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Active modern Italian has around 30 nouns in this family. The most common are body-part nouns (braccio, dito, ginocchio, ciglio, labbro, osso, sopracciglio, membro) and collectives (paio, miglio, centinaio, migliaio, riso, urlo, grido). Many other Latin neuter survivals exist but are rare or literary.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-h2-rel-np gb-headline-text\" id=\"related\">Related guides<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/italian-plurals-three-rules\/\">Italian Plurals: The 3 Rules That Cover Almost Everything (A1)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/italian-nouns\/\">Italian Nouns: 7 Rules for Gender and Plurals (A2-B1)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/italian-inalienable-possession\/\">Italian Inalienable Possession: Mi Lavo le Mani (B1)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.treccani.it\/enciclopedia\/plurale_(La-grammatica-italiana)\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Treccani:il plurale in italiano<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/accademiadellacrusca.it\/it\/consulenza\/braccia-o-bracci\/95\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Accademia della Crusca:braccia o bracci<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An Italian doctor in Padova asks you to lift le braccia. A waiter at a Lucca trattoria announces the special: uova al tartufo. A friend texts that she has i ginocchi rotti dalla corsa, but the orthopaedist&#8217;s report will write le ginocchia infiammate. The same noun, two different plural endings, two different gender agreements. Welcome &#8230; <a title=\"Italian Neuter Plurals: Uovo, Uova, Braccio, Braccia (B1)\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/italian-neuter-plurals\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Italian Neuter Plurals: Uovo, Uova, Braccio, Braccia (B1)\">Read more \u226b<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10020,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1865,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-b1","category-lingua","no-featured-image-padding","pmpro-has-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10020"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59917"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59921,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59917\/revisions\/59921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dante-learning.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}