Italian adjectives
Learn how to use adjectives in Italian to improve and enrich your sentences.
Let’s start from the very beginning. What is an adjective? An adjective is a word that qualifies the meaning of a noun by adding some specification or description to it. There are many different categories of adjective. In this post we will only cover the use of aggettivi qualificativi: adjectives that describe qualities (physical or otherwise) of a person or thing.
Take a look at the following sentence:
La ragazza spagnola legge un libro interessante = the Spanish girl reads an interesting book
Here we have two adjectives: spagnola (Spanish) and interessante (interesting). Thanks to them we know that the girl is not just an anonymous girl, she’s Spanish! And the book she’s reading is not just any old book, it’s an interesting book.
Now let’s discover how to use them!
Almost all descriptive adjectives follow the same basic patterns as nouns in Italian, with their endings depending on gender and number. There are two groups of adjectives.
FIRST GROUP – ADJECTIVES WITH FOUR DIFFERENT ENDINGS: -O, -A, -I, -E.
The adjectives in this group change their ending in four different ways, depending on number and gender. Here are some examples of adjectives from this group:
buono, buona, buoni, buone (good)
piccolo, piccola, piccoli, piccole (small)
nuovo, nuova, nuovi, nuove (new)
If they accompany a masculine singular noun [how can you tell? Head here!] the ending will be -o.
un libro piccolo = a small book
un treno nuovo = a new train
(!) Be careful! Italian masculine singular nouns sometimes end in -e. In this case, the first group of adjectives still keep their -o ending.
un ristorante buono = a good restaurant
un cane piccolo = a small dog
When these adjectives accompany a masculine plural noun, the ending will be – i.
due libri piccoli = two small books
due treni nuovi = two new trains
due ristoranti buoni = two good restaurants
due cani piccoli = two small dogs
If they accompany a feminine singular noun [how can you tell? Head here!], the ending will be -a.
una casa piccola = a small house
una macchina nuova = a new car
(!) Be careful! Italian feminine singular nouns sometimes end in -e. In this case, the first group of adjectives still keep their -a ending.
una colazione buona = a good breakfast
una stazione piccola = a small station
When these adjectives accompany a feminine plural noun, the ending will be – e.
due case piccole = two small houses
due macchine nuove = two new cars
(!) Be careful! Italian feminine singular nouns ending in -e turn into -i in the plural. In this case, the first group of adjectives still keep their -e ending.
due colazioni buone = two good breakfasts
due stazioni piccole = two small stations
SECOND GROUP – ADJECTIVES WITH TWO DIFFERENT ENDINGS: -E, -I.
The adjectives in this group change their ending only according the number of the noun. There is no difference between the masculine and feminine ending. Some adjectives from this group are:
grande, grandi (big)
veloce, veloci (fast)
importante, importanti (difficult)
If they accompany a masculine or a feminine singular noun the adjective ending will now be -e.
un libro importante = an important book
un treno veloce = a fast train
un ristorante grande = a big restaurant
una casa grande = a big house
una macchina veloce = a fast car
una stazione importante = an important station
When this group of adjectives accompany a masculine or feminine plural noun, the ending will be – i.
due libri importanti = two important books
due treni veloci = two fast trains
due ristoranti grandi = two big restaurants
due case grandi = two big houses
due macchine veloci = two fast cars
due stazioni importanti = two important stations
TIP - in Italian, the adjective mostly follows the noun. So remember:
Un treno veloce = yes
Un veloce treno = no
NOW IT'S TIME TO PUT WHAT YOU HAVE JUST LEARNT INTO PRACTICE!
Test yourself. Can you decline the adjective, giving it the correct ending?
1. Un’insalata ______________ (gustoso, a, i, e)
2. Due insalate ______________ (gustoso, a, i, e)
3. Un film ______________ (famoso, a, i, e)
4. Due film ______________ (famoso, a, i, e)
5. Uno studente ______________ (intelligente, i)
6. Due studenti ______________ (intelligente, i)
7. Una macchina ______________ (veloce, i)
8. Due macchine ______________(veloce, i)
9. Un parco ______________ (verde, i)
10. Due parchi ______________ (verde, i)
11. Un cane ______________ (calmo, a, i, e)
12. Due cani ______________ (calmo, a, i, e)
13. Una colazione ______________ (abbondante, i)
14. Due colazioni ______________ (abbondante, i)
Answers
1. Un’insalata gustosa
2. Due insalate gustose
3. Un film famoso
4. Due film famosi
5. Uno studente intelligente
6. Due studenti intelligenti
7. Una macchina veloce
8. Due macchine veloci
9. Un parco verde
10. Due parchi verdi
11. Un cane calmo
12. Due cani calmi
13. Una colazione abbondante
14. Due colazioni abbondanti