ILGUR: Italian Language, Grammar and Usage Resource

The chart above shows the definite articles in Italian. The definite article is “the” in English. As you can see, Italian has various forms of “the” depending upon the gender and number of the noun it modifies, and its form is determined by the first letter of the noun (and also in some cases the adjective) that follows the definite article.

Some points to remember:

Il is the masculine, singular form for “the” and is used before consonants except for nouns that begin with a s + consonant, ps, gn, y or z. These nouns use the “lo” form of the definite article:

il ragazzo, i ragazzi
il burro, i burri note that this noun is typically collective and used only in singular
il tempo, i tempi

lo studente, gli studenti
lo zio, gli zii
lo sport, gli sport
lo yogurt, gli yogurt
lo gnocco, gli gnocchi
lo psicotico, gli psicotici

L’ is the form for masculine and feminine singular plural “the” when the noun begins with a vowel. Such as:

l’albergo, gli alberghi
l’ecologo, gli ecologi
l’ambiente, gli ambienti

l’anatra, le anatre
l’automobile, le automobili
l’ondata, le ondate
l’informazione, le informazioni

L’ is also the definite article used for words which may start with a consonant but have a vowel-like sound:

l’mp3, gli mp3 mp3 (generally in foreign words)

La is the definite article for feminine nouns:

la mela | the apple
la torta | the cake
la scarpa | the shoe

When an adjective precedes the nouns and follows the definite article, the “rules” change. The first letter of the word following directly after the definite article determines its form:

L’informazione è utile.
The information is useful.

La nuova informazione è utile.
The new information is useful.

Normally the l’ is the definite article for informazione. Because it is preceded by an adjective that begins with a consonant (in this case, an n), it uses a different form of the definite article.

Some other examples:

The other day
L’altro giorno (il giorno -> il altro giorno -> l’altro giorno)

The new student
Il nuovo studente (lo studente -> lo nuovo studente -> il nuovo student)

As you can see, because the article precedes an adjective that begins with a vowel, it requires the l’ form of the definite article.

For information on definite articles and how they combine with prepositions, click here.