Italian Indefinite Articles - Articoli Indeterminativi

The Italian indefinite article (larticolo indeterminativo) corresponds to English  a/an  and is used with singular nouns. It also corresponds to the number  one. INDEFINITE ARTICLES MASCHILE FEMMINILE uno zio (uncle) una zia (aunt) un cugino (cousin, m.) una cugina (cousin, f.) un amico (friend, m.) unamica (friend, f.) Uno  is used for masculine words beginning with  z  or  s  Ã‚  consonant;  un  is used for all other masculine words.  Una  is used for feminine words beginning with a consonant;  un’  is used for feminine words beginning with a vowel. un treno e una biciclettaun aeroplano e un’automobileuno stadio e una stazione How to Use Italian Indefinite Articles​ In Italian, an article is the variable part of  discourse  that appears before the  noun  to specify the gender and number of the noun. An  adjective  can be placed between the article and noun: Il  viaggio  in Turchia à ¨Ã‚  una  buona  idea per  le  prossime  vacanze.The trip to Turkey is a good idea for your next vacation. È  stato  un  viaggio  molto  interessante.It was a very interesting trip. I  ragazzi si alzino in piedi,  le  ragazze restino sedute.The boys stand up, the girls remain seated. Lo  sport à ¨Ã‚  unattività   salutare per  gli  adolescenti.Sport is a healthy pursuit for teenagers. NOTE: The article gives value to the noun and any other part of speech it precedes: Il  mangiar  troppo  non  giova  alla  salute.Overeating is not conducive to ones health. Lo strano  della storia à ¨ che nessuno udà ¬ lo sparo.The odd part of the story is that no one heard the shot. Bene,  il pià ¹Ã‚  Ãƒ ¨Ã‚  fatto!Well, the job is done! In Italian, an article can either be a  definite article  (articolo determinativo), an indefinite article (articolo indeterminativo), or a  partitive article  (articolo partitivo). Indefinite ArticleIn Italian, the indefinite article is placed before the noun to indicate a generic, uncountable noun. It is also used before the names of professions as well as with common names or surnames to indicate a work of art. In English, indefinite articles correspond to the terms a and an. It has the following forms: MASCULINE (singular):  un,  unoFEMININE (singular):  una,  un un  is  used before a masculine noun that starts with a vowel or consonant: un  amicoa friend un  giornoone day un  tavoloa table NOTE:  un  is  never followed by an apostrophe. uno  pressed a word that starts with:  »Ã‚  s  impura  (s   consonant) uno  scontrinoa receipt uno  specchioa mirror uno  svagoa diversion  »Ã‚  y  semiconsonantica  (semivowel y) uno  yogurta yogurt uno  yachta yacht  »Ã‚  gn,  ps,  x, and  z uno  gnomoa gnome uno  psicologoa psychologist uno  xenofoboa xenophobic uno  zainoa backpack una  is used before a feminine word that begins with a consonant: una  madrea mother una  ziaan aunt un  is used before a feminine word that begins with a vowel: unautomobilea car unamicaa friend NOTE: The indefinite article has no plural form; however it can be implied:  »Ã‚  by omitting the article: Leggo  giornali.I am reading newspapers. Mangio pere e mele.I am eating pears and apples.  »Ã‚  with the partitive article, with the suggestion of  qualche,  alcuni, or  un  po di: Prendo caffà ¨ e  dei  biscotti.Im having coffee and biscuits. Vorrei  comprare  dei  libri.I would like to buy books.