Definite Articles (Il/Lo/La/I/Gli/Le)

In English, the definite article is simple: the. Italian, however, has seven different forms of the definite article, and the correct choice depends on the gender and number of the noun as well as the first letter(s) of the word that follows.

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Why Seven Forms?

Italian definite articles must agree with the noun in both gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural). Additionally, certain consonant clusters and vowels at the beginning of a word require special article forms for smooth pronunciation.

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The Complete Article Table

	Singular	Plural
Masculine (standard)	il	i
Masculine (before s+consonant, z, gn, pn, ps, x, y)	lo	gli
Masculine (before a vowel)	l'	gli
Feminine (before a consonant)	la	le
Feminine (before a vowel)	l'	le

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Masculine Articles: il, lo, l'

il — The Standard Masculine Article

Use il before masculine nouns starting with most consonants.

Italian	English
il libro	the book
il ragazzo	the boy
il tavolo	the table
il giorno	the day
il tempo	the time / weather
il cane	the dog
il treno	the train
il vino	the wine

lo — Before Special Consonant Clusters

Use lo before masculine nouns starting with:

• s + consonant (sc, sp, st, sb, etc.)
• z
• gn
• pn
• ps
• x or y

Italian	English	Starting Letters
lo studente	the student	s + t
lo sport	the sport	s + p
lo zaino	the backpack	z
lo zio	the uncle	z
lo gnocco	the dumpling	gn
lo psicologo	the psychologist	ps
lo pneumatico	the tyre	pn
lo yogurt	the yoghurt	y
lo xilofono	the xylophone	x

l' — Before a Vowel

Use l' (elision of lo) before masculine nouns starting with a vowel.

Italian	English
l'uomo	the man
l'amico	the friend
l'albero	the tree
l'ospedale	the hospital
l'orologio	the watch / clock
l'esame	the exam

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Feminine Articles: la, l'

la — Before a Consonant

Use la before feminine nouns starting with any consonant.

Italian	English
la casa	the house
la donna	the woman
la scuola	the school
la strada	the road
la stazione	the station
la zia	the aunt

Note: Unlike the masculine, the feminine article does not change before s + consonant or z. It is always la: la studentessa, la zia.

l' — Before a Vowel

Use l' (elision of la) before feminine nouns starting with a vowel.

Italian	English
l'amica	the friend (fem.)
l'acqua	the water
l'isola	the island
l'ora	the hour
l'estate	the summer
l'università	the university

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Plural Articles: i, gli, le

i — Standard Masculine Plural

Use i as the plural of il.

Singular	Plural
il libro	i libri
il ragazzo	i ragazzi
il giorno	i giorni
il treno	i treni

gli — Masculine Plural Before Special Sounds and Vowels

Use gli as the plural of both lo and l' (masculine).

Singular	Plural
lo studente	gli studenti
lo zaino	gli zaini
lo gnocco	gli gnocchi
l'uomo	gli uomini
l'amico	gli amici
l'albero	gli alberi

le — Feminine Plural

Use le as the plural of both la and l' (feminine). It does not elide before vowels.