In Italian, nouns and adjectives must match in gender and number. This is a basic rule that helps people understand each other clearly.

Gender Agreement

• Masculine Nouns: These usually end with -o. For example, "libro" means "book."
• Feminine Nouns: These typically end with -a. For example, "casa" means "house."
• Fun Fact: About 60% of Italian nouns are masculine, and around 40% are feminine.

Examples:

• For a masculine noun: "libro interessante" means "interesting book."
• For a feminine noun: "casa interessante" means "interesting house."

Number Agreement

Nouns and adjectives also change to show if they are singular or plural:

• Singular: Use -o for masculine and -a for feminine.
• Plural:
  • Masculine: Change to -i (e.g., "libri" means "books")
  • Feminine: Change to -e (e.g., "case" means "houses")

Examples:

• Singular: "libro interessante" means "interesting book" (masculine).
• Plural: "libri interessanti" means "interesting books" (masculine).

Key Points

1. Gender Agreement: An adjective must match the gender of the noun.
2. Number Agreement: An adjective must also match the number of the noun.

Understanding how to make nouns and adjectives agree in gender and number is very important. It helps you speak and write Italian correctly and can affect about half of what is considered correct grammar.