Languages › Italian Adjectives in Italian: Form and Agreement Una Pizza Grande o Una Grande Pizza? Share Flipboard Email Print Michael Berman/Getty Images Italian Grammar History & Culture Vocabulary By Michael San Filippo Italian Expert M.A., Italian Studies, Middlebury College B.A., Biology, Northeastern University Michael San Filippo co-wrote The Complete Idiot's Guide to Italian History and Culture. He is a tutor of Italian language and culture. our editorial process Michael San Filippo Updated March 17, 2017 An adjective is a word that qualifies a noun; for example, a good boy. In Italian an adjective agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies. In Italian there are two groups of adjectives: those ending in -o and those ending in -e. Adjectives ending in -o in the masculine have four forms: Maschile Femminile Singolare -o -a Plurale -i -e il libro italiano la signora italiana i libri italiani le signore italiane il primo giorno la mensa universitaria i primi giorni le mense universitarie If an adjective ends in -io, the o is dropped to form the plural. l'abito vecchio (the old suit)gli abiti vecchi (the old suits)il ragazzo serio (the serious boys)i ragazzi seri (the serious boys) Uli è tedesco. (Uli is German.)Adriana è italiana. (Adriana is Italian.)Roberto e Daniele sono americani. (Robert and Daniel are American.)Svetlana e Natalia sono russe. (Svetlana and Natalia are Russian.) Adjectives ending in -e are the same for the masculine and the feminine singular. In the plural, the -e changes to -i. il ragazzo inglese (the English boy)la ragazza inglese (the English girl)i ragazzi inglesi (the English boys)le ragazze inglesi (the English girls) An adjective modifying two nouns of different gender is masculine. i padri e le madre italiani (Italian fathers and mothers) Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Filippo, Michael San. "Adjectives in Italian: Form and Agreement." ThoughtCo, Aug. 26, 2020, thoughtco.com/adjectives-in-italian-form-and-agreement-4097058. Filippo, Michael San. (2020, August 26). Adjectives in Italian: Form and Agreement. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/adjectives-in-italian-form-and-agreement-4097058 Filippo, Michael San. "Adjectives in Italian: Form and Agreement." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/adjectives-in-italian-form-and-agreement-4097058 (accessed January 23, 2021). copy citation