ance = anza
importance = importanza
ence = enza
intelligence = intelligenza
ant = ante
important = importante
ent = ente
student = studente
ible = bile
possible = possibile
ist = ista
dentist = dentista
ly = mente
generally = generalmente
sion = sione
mission = missione
tion = zione
station = stazione
ty = ta'
society = societa'
Nouns ending in 'o' are generally masculine:
amico = friend (male)
libro = book
Nouns ending in 'a' are generally feminine:
amica = friend (female)
casa = house
Nouns ending in 'e' can be both and simply must be memorized:
ristorante (m) = restaurant
pane (m) = bread
classe (f) = class
notte (f) = night
Words ending with a consonant are usually foreign words, and are
usually masculine:
bar, autobus, film, sport
Change the 'o' to an 'i' to make it plural:
amico = friend, amici = friends
Change the 'a' to an 'e' to make it plural:
chiesa = church, chiese = churches
Change the 'ca' to a 'che' to make it plural:
banca = bank, banche = banks
Change the 'e' to an 'i' to make it plural:
studente = student, studenti = students
Most masculine words ending in 'io' you drop the 'o' to make it plural:
negozio = store, negozi = stores
Nouns ending with an accented vowel or a consonant do not change in the plural:
caffe' = coffee shop, due caffe' = two coffee shops
foto = photo, due foto = two photos
libro = book
penna = pen
matita = pencil
carta = paper
quaderno = notebook or planner
sedia = chair
luce = light
finestra = window
scrivania = desk
pagina = page
porta = door
parlare = to speak
io parlo = I speak
tu parli = you speak (informal)
Lei parla = you speak (formal)
lui parla = he speaks
lei parla = she speaks
noi parliamo = we speak
voi parlate = you speak (plural)
loro parlano = they speak
Inglese = English
Francese = French
Spagnolo = Spanish
Tedesco = German
Russo = Russian
Giapponese = Japanese
Italiano = Italian
Parliamo Italiano = We speak Italian