You could say that adjectives are all about making the noun better.
Whether it's in English, Italian, or any other language, a world without adjectives would be a very dull and boring world indeed. There would be no fast cars, they'd just be cars. No sunny days, they'd just be days...
So, let's celebrate the power of the descriptive word, and find out all about Italian adjectives.
Resources for further reading:
Here are some Italian sentences using adjectives to get you started. Further on in this lesson we will look at the pronunciation of these and more Italian adjectives.
Let's get started... According to the noun it's linked to, adjectives can have:
An attributive function, when it is linked directly to a noun.
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Il cielo azzurro mi diverte.
The blue sky amuses me.
A predicative function, when it is linked to the noun through the verb essere, to be.
Il cielo è azzurro.
The sky is blue.
Adjectives agree always on genre and number with the noun. If they're linked to more than one noun and just one of them is masculine, the adjectives are all defined as masculine.
Ho bisogno di una sciarpa (f) e una giacca (f) nuove.
I need a new scarf and a new jacket.
Ho bisogno di un pullover (m) e una giacca (f) nuovi.
I need a new pullover and a new jacket.
The forms of the adjectives:
nuov-o (M) | nuov-a (F) |
Singular
nuov-i (M) | nuov-e (F) |
Plural
Il gioco nuovo
The new toy
I giochi nuovi
The new toys
La casa nuova
The new house
le case nuove
The new houses
egoist-a (M) | egoist-a (F) |
Singular
egoist-i (M) | egoist-e (F) |
Plural
L’uomo egoista
The egoist man
La donna egoista
The egoist woman
Gli uomini egoisti
The egoist men
Le donne egoiste
The egoist women
gentil-e (M) | gentil-e (F) |
Singular
gentil-i (M) | gentil-i (F) |
Plural
L’uomo gentile
The kind man
La donna gentile
The kind woman
Gli uomini gentili
The kind men
Le donne gentili
The kind women
Il muro rosa
The pink wall
I muri rosa
The pink walls
La casa rosa
The pink house
Le case rosa
The pink houses
The adjectives can be used before or after the noun.
C’era un grande lago
There was a big lake
C’era un lago grande
There was a big lake
The position gives a different tone to a sentence, according to these rules:
The adjective before the noun has less power than the one after.
Luisa è una bella ragazza
Luisa is a beautiful girl
is less powerful than
Luisa è una ragazza bella
Luisa is a beautiful girl
Sometimes the adjective before the noun has a descriptive function, while after it has a distinctive function
Luigi è venuto con la sua bella figlia
Luigi has come with his beautiful daughter
Luigi è venuto con la figlia bella
Luigi has come with his daughter, the beautiful one
In some cases, the different position can influence the meaning of the sentence.
Il nostro vicino è un uomo povero
Our neighbor is a poor man
Il nostro vicino è un pover’uomo
Our neighbor is a mean man
There are adjectives that are used only after the noun. They indicate:
italiano, tedesco, americano, etc.
nationality
democratico, socialista, comunista, etc.
membership
destro, sinistro, etc.
location or position
cieco, gobbo, etc.
physical characteristics
While adjectives are connected with nouns, adverbs complete the verb. Usually adverbs have the same stem of the corresponding adjectives + the suffix -mente.
A mio padre piace vivere pericolosamente
My father likes to live dangerously
Io amo gli sport pericolosi
I love dangerous sports
Sono molto felice
I am really happy
Ho molti motivi per essere felice
I have a lot of reasons to be happy
Buono is an adjective, while bene is the corresponding adverb.
buono
good
bene
well
In Italia si mangia bene
In Italy they eat well
La pasta è buona
The pasta is good
For more on Italian grammar check out these lessons!
A presto!
Maria Di Lorenzi: Rocket Italian
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