# 9 Plural nouns

In Activity 6, you were given examples of nouns in their plural form. In Activity 7 you will match these to their singular form.

## Activity 7

All the words in the previous step were in the plural form. Read them again below and match each of them to the corresponding singular form. Then read the explanation below.

paste

pasta

pizzette

pizzetta

cornetti

cornetto

tramezzini

tramezzino

panini

panino

gelati

gelato

Using the following two lists, match each numbered item with the correct letter.

1. paste

2. pizzette

3. cornetti

4. tramezzini

5. panini

6. gelati

1. 1

   pasta

2. 2

   pizzetta

3. 3

   cornetto

4. 4

   tramezzino

5. 5

   panino

6. 6

   gelato

The correct answers are:

- 1 =
- 2 =
- 3 =
- 4 =
- 5 =
- 6 =

## Plural nouns

The different groups of nouns have different plural forms.

- Masculine nouns ending in -o form their plural in -i:
  - un cornetto a croissant - due cornetti two croissants
- Feminine nouns ending in -a form their plural in -e:
  - una pizza a pizza - due pizze two pizzas
- Both masculine and feminine nouns ending in -e form their plural in -i:
  - un liquore a liqueur - due liquori two liqueurs
  - una lezione a lesson - due lezioni two lessons

As you might expect, there are exceptions. Some words do not change form in the plural, such as:

- nouns ending in a consonant and one-syllable nouns:
  - un bar a bar - due bar two bars
- nouns imported from another language:
  - una brioche a brioche - due brioche two brioches
- and nouns with a written accent on their final syllable:
  - un'attività an activity - due attività two activities
  - un caffé a coffee - due caffè two coffees

OpenLearn - Getting started with Italian 1
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