Italian nouns

Ciao,

ho una domanda a chiedere

Does it follow that every Italian noun that ends with -o means that it is a Masculine noun and vice versa, nouns that end with -a imply that they belong to the feminine?
Example: il zaino, il bagno, il mano, il tavolo

Grazie!
 

Hi Rachelyeo,

Yes, the great majority of nouns ending in -o is masculine, and the great majority of nouns ending in -a is feminine.

Not all of them, though. Some nouns are irregular: la mano. It ends in -o, but it's a feminine noun.

Make sure to memorize the gender of the word along with the noun itself!

Lucia

Hi LuzM18, 

Thanks for your question!
Depending on the context, "table" could be both tavolo (masculine) and tavola (feminine).
As a general rule, tavolo  is the generic word for table as "piece of furniture".
You would use "tavolo" in phrases like the following ones:
- Questo tavolo è davvero grande! = This table is really big!
- Il gatto ha graffiato il tavolo. = The cat scratched the table.

If you are referring to a table that is set for a meal, you would use the word "tavola".
For instance, you would say:
- Vieni a tavola, il pranzo è pronto! = Come to the table, lunch is ready!
- Porta la caraffa in tavola, grazie! = Bring the jug to the table, thanks!

Hope this helps :)