In Italian, nouns can be singular or plural, depending on whether they refer to one person, animal, object, or idea, or to more than one. Unlike English, which usually forms the plural by adding -s or -es, Italian generally changes the final vowel of the noun. The plural form also depends on the noun's grammatical gender: masculine or feminine. Learning these patterns is essential because articles and adjectives must agree with the noun in both gender and number.
How to Form the Plural of Italian Nouns
Most masculine nouns end in -o in the singular and change to -i in the plural. This is one of the most common and regular patterns in Italian. Feminine nouns ending in -a usually change to -e, while nouns ending in -e, whether masculine or feminine, generally change to -i. These three patterns cover a large number of everyday Italian nouns and provide a useful starting point for forming plurals.
il libro → i libri — the book → the books
la casa → le case — the house → the houses
il cane → i cani — the dog → the dogs
la notte → le notti — the night → the nights
Some masculine nouns, especially certain words ending in -ma, end in -a rather than -o and form their plural by changing -a to -i. Common examples include problema (problem) and programma (program). Although their singular endings resemble those of feminine nouns, they are masculine and follow this particular plural pattern.
il problema → i problemi — the problem → the problems
il programma → i programmi — the program → the programs
The plural of a noun is also reflected in its article. For example, il becomes i, while la becomes le. Other articles have different plural forms, depending on the gender and the beginning of the noun. The complete rules for Italian articles are covered separately.
Important Exceptions and Invariable Nouns
Not every Italian noun follows the three main plural patterns. Some nouns remain unchanged in the plural. These are called invariable nouns, and their singular and plural forms are identical. This is particularly common with nouns ending in an accented vowel, such as città (city), and with many words borrowed from other languages, such as film. In these cases, the article changes to indicate whether the noun is singular or plural. A few very common nouns also have irregular plural forms that must be learned individually, such as uomo (man), which becomes uomini (men).
la città → le città — the city → the cities
il film → i film — the film → the films
l'uomo → gli uomini — the man → the men
Another important group includes feminine nouns ending in -ca and -ga, which generally add an h in the plural to preserve the hard sound of c or g. These nouns usually become -che and -ghe. This spelling change does not alter the basic plural rule for feminine nouns ending in -a; it simply keeps the pronunciation consistent.
la banca → le banche — the bank → the banks
la riga → le righe — the line → the lines
| Singular ending | Plural ending | Typical gender | Example |
| -o | -i | Masculine | libro → libri |
| -a | -e | Feminine | casa → case |
| -e | -i | Masculine or feminine | cane → cani |
| -a (some nouns in -ma) | -i | Masculine | problema → problemi |
| Accented vowel | Unchanged | Masculine or feminine | città → città |
| Borrowed words | Often unchanged | Masculine or feminine | film → film |
| -ca / -ga | -che / -ghe | Feminine | banca → banche |