Adjective Agreement
Adjective Agreement
Italian adjectives change their ending to match the noun they describe — something English adjectives never do at all.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
Adjectives Match Gender AND Number
alto, alta, alti, alte
tall
An English adjective like 'tall' never changes, no matter what it describes. Most Italian adjectives have four forms depending on the noun's gender and number: -o (masc. singular), -a (fem. singular), -i (masc. plural), -e (fem. plural) — un ragazzo alto, una ragazza alta, dei ragazzi alti, delle ragazze alte.
-e Adjectives Have Only Two Forms
grande, grandi
big
Adjectives that end in -e in the dictionary — grande, intelligente, and many others — don't distinguish gender at all: grande works for both un uomo grande (a big man) and una casa grande (a big house). They only change for number, switching -e to -i in the plural, one fewer form to keep track of than -o/-a adjectives.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
- English
- tall (m)
- English
- tall (f)
- English
- small (m)
- English
- small (f)
- English
- big (m/f singular)
- English
- big (m/f plural)
- English
- smart (m/f singular)
- English
- smart (m/f plural)
- English
- beautiful (m)
- English
- beautiful (f)
- English
- good (m)
- English
- good (f)