Languages › Italian Formation of Italian Plural Nouns Ending in -O Formazione del Plurale: Nomi in -O Share Flipboard Email Print Camilla Bandeira Italian Grammar History & Culture Vocabulary By Michael San Filippo 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. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on November 04, 2019 Italian singular nouns that end in -o form the plural by changing the ending to -i: bambino—bambiniimpiegato—impiegatisasso—sassicoltello—coltelli The plural of the noun uomo is also formed with -i, but with a change in the ending: uomini. Of the few female nouns that end in -o, some remain unchanged in the plural; mano usually becomes mani; eco, which in the singular is feminine, is always masculine in the plural: gli echi. Nouns in -co and -go do not follow a consistent behavior in forming the plural. If there is a pattern to speak of, the nouns maintain the velar consonants /k/ and /g/, and end in -chi and -ghi. However, if the nouns are sdruccioli (stressed on the third-to-last syllable of a word), instead, drop the velar consonants /k/ and /g/ and add the palatal sounds -ci and -gi:baco—bachicuoco—cuochifungo—funghialbergo—alberghimedico—medicisindaco—sindaciteologo—teologiornitologo—ornitologi Among nouns that behave differently from the conventional pattern are: nemico—nemiciamico—amicigreco—greciporco—porci Among nouns that are pronounced with the stress on the third-to-last syllable, there are many more exceptions: carico—carichiincarico—incarichiabbaco—abbachivalico—valichipizzico—pizzichistrascico—strascichidialogo—dialoghicatalogo—cataloghiobbligo—obblighiprologo—prologhiepilogo—epiloghiprofugo—profughi Finally, some nouns have both forms: chirurgo—chirugi, chirurghifarmaco—farmaci, farmachimanico—manici, manichistomaco—stomaci, stomachisarcofago—sarcofagi, sarcofaghiintonaco—intonaci, intonachi Nouns ending in -ìo (with a stressed i) form regular plurals ending in -ìi: zìo—zìipendìo—pendìirinvìo—rinvìimormorìo—mormorìi NOTE: dìo becomes dèi in the plural. Nouns ending in -ìo (with an unstressed i) lose the i of the stem in the plural, therefore ending in -i:viaggio—viaggifiglio—figlicoccio—cocciraggio—raggibacio—bacigiglio—gigli NOTE: tempio becomes templi in the plural. Some nouns that end in -io in the singular, in the plural may be confused with other plurals of the same spelling; to avoid ambiguity are sometimes used, such as an accent on the stressed syllable, a circumflex accent on the ending, or on the final double i: osservatorio—osservatori, osservatòri, osservatorî, osservatoriiosservatore—osservatori, osservatóriprincipio—principi, princìpi, principî, principiiprincipe—principi, prìncipiarbitrio—arbitri, arbìtri, arbitrî, arbitriiarbitro—arbitri, àrbitriassassinio—assassini, assassinî, assassiniiassassino—assassiniomicidio—omicidi, omicidî, omicidiiomicida—omicidi Today the tendency is to write a single i without diacritical marks: the general meaning of the sentence usually resolves any doubt. Some nouns ending in -o, which in the singular are masculine, in the plural become feminine grammatical gender and take the ending -a: il centinaio—le centinaiail migliaio—le migliaiail miglio—le migliail paio—le paial'uovo—le uovail riso (il ridere)—le risa The table below summarizes the formation of the plural for Italian nouns ending in -o: Plurale dei Nomi in -O SINGOLARE PLURALE maschile femminile -o -i -i -co, -go (parole piane) -chi, -ghi -co, -go (parole sdruccioli) -ci, -gì -io (stressed i) -ìi -io (unstressed i) -i Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Filippo, Michael San. "Formation of Italian Plural Nouns Ending in -O." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/italian-plural-nouns-ending-in-o-2011411. Filippo, Michael San. (2023, April 5). Formation of Italian Plural Nouns Ending in -O. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/italian-plural-nouns-ending-in-o-2011411 Filippo, Michael San. "Formation of Italian Plural Nouns Ending in -O." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/italian-plural-nouns-ending-in-o-2011411 (accessed May 28, 2023). copy citation By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies