#014: Invariable Nouns and Adjectives
In Italian, there are some nouns and adjectives which do not change form when in the plural or change to accommodate gender. These nouns and adjectives are called invariable.
Remember that adverbs are invariable, too! Nouns are considered invariable when they have the same form in both the singular and the plural. Nouns that follow this convention are:
- Foreign words (which typically end in a consonant) such as: gli yogurt, i jeans, i film (yogurts, jeans, films)
- Nouns that end in an accent vowel:le città, le formalità, i virtù, i caffè (cities, formalities, virtues, coffees)
- Feminine nouns ending in “i”:le crisi, le ipotesi
- Feminine nouns ending in an “ie”:le serie, le specieException: la moglie = le mogli
- Abbreviated feminine nouns:singular: la moto, l’auto, la metro, la foto, la bici, il cinema plural: le moto, le auto, le metro, le foto, le bici, i cinema
- One syllable nouns:il re, lo sci i re, gli sci
- Other nouns:il/la giramondo, la manforte, l’infradito (m. or f.), lo stuzzicadenti, il caccia le manforte, gli infradito/le infradito, gli stuzzicadenti, i caccia
- Possessive pronoun, loro, is invariable.
- The following noun(s) are also invariable:il boia: executioner il rom, la rom: Roma, gypsy
- The possessive adjective, loro, is invariable
- Certain colors: blu, rosa, viola, lilla, beige
- Colors that require two words: verde bottiglie (bottle green), nero notte (night black)
- The adjectives: pari, dispari, impari
- The adjective: arrosto
- The adjective: antiproiettile: bullet-proof
- The adjective: antiscivolo: non-slip
- The adjective: rom: Roma, gypsy
- The adjective: cuscinetto: buffer
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[...] end in consonants (typically words borrowed from other languages) or accented vowels are generally invariable and have the same form in the singular and plural: il caffè -> i [...]