SINGULAR FORM OF NOUNS-
LA FORMA SINGOLARE DEI SOSTANTIVI
Singular Nouns
Masculine
Most nouns that end in -o are masculine singular.
Ragazzo – boy
Feminine
Most nouns ending in -a are feminine.
Ragazza – girl
Nouns Ending in -e
Nouns ending in -e can be masculine or feminine.
They are not too many, so they are easy to memorize.
Masculine         Feminine
Fiore –flower            Canzone – song
Nouns Ending in -amma or -ma
Nouns that end in -amma or -ma are masculine.
Programma – program
Nouns Ending in -zione and -sione
All nouns ending in -zione and -sione are feminine.
Illusione – illusion
Nouns Ending in -ale, -ame, -ile, -one, and -ore
Almost all nouns ending in -ale, -ame, -ile, -one, and -ore are masculine.
Animale – animal
Nouns Ending in -si
Nouns ending in -si are of Greek origin, and they are feminine.
Analisi – analysis
                                          1
Masculine -tore Equals Feminine -trice
When a masculine noun ends in -tore, and refers to a male person, the
corresponding female ends in -trice.
Masculine        Feminine
Attore – actor          Attrice – actress
Masculine -ore Equals Feminine -essa
Some masculine nouns that refer to a person’s profession and that end in -ore
change to -essa in the feminine.
Masculine           Feminine
Dottore – doctor Dottoressa – (female) doctor
Nouns Ending in -ista
Nouns ending in -ista can be either masculine or feminine.
Masculine            Feminine
(il) dentista – dentist (male)        (la) dentista dentist (female)