Definite articles (il, lo, la, i, gli, le, l')

Il libro è sul tavolo. Gli studenti sono in classe.The book is on the table. The students are in class.

The Italian definite article means "the": it can point to something specific or already known, and Italian also uses it in general statements more often than English does. It has seven forms, and you choose by the noun's gender, its number (singular or plural) and the first sound of the word that follows.

Quick shortcut (the usual cases): singular il (masculine) / la (feminine), plural i / le. Before a vowel, singular l'. Masculine nouns starting with s + consonant, z, gn, ps, pn, x, y take lo (plural gli).

The forms

How to choose, step by step:

1. Feminine: la before a consonant, l' before a vowel in the singular; le in the plural.
2. Masculine singular: il before most consonants, lo before s + consonant, z, gn, ps, pn, x, y, l' before a vowel.
3. Masculine plural: i where the singular takes il, and gli where the singular takes lo or l'.

So il libro → i libri, but lo studente → gli studenti and l'amico → gli amici. (The plural of nouns is in Plural nouns, and the gender of nouns in Noun gender.) A few rare masculine nouns that begin with a semivowel i + vowel also take lo / gli (lo iato → gli iati).

l' for masculine and feminine

Before a vowel, both genders use l' in the singular, so the article doesn't show the gender: l'amico (masculine) and l'amica (feminine). The plural shows it: gli amici / le amiche. (Compare the indefinite articles: Indefinite articles.)

When Italian uses "the"

Italian uses the definite article in more places than English:

• For general statements: Il caffè è buono. (Coffee is good.) / I gatti sono animali. (Cats are animals.) English drops "the"; Italian keeps it.
• With names of languages used as a subject: L'italiano è bello. (Italian is beautiful.) But after parlare, no article: Parlo italiano. (I speak Italian.)
• With titles before a surname: Il signor Rossi è qui. (Mr Rossi is here.) When speaking to the person, no article: Buongiorno, signor Rossi.
• With days to mean "every": Il lunedì vado a scuola. (On Mondays I go to school.)
• With hours: Sono le tre. (It's three o'clock.) / È l'una. (It's one o'clock.)

The article joins prepositions

When a, di, in, su and similar words meet the article, they combine: a + il = al, di + la = della. These forms have their own lesson: Articulated prepositions.

Common mistakes

• ❌ lo libro → ✅ il libro (lo is only for the special beginnings)
• ❌ il studente → ✅ lo studente (masculine before s + consonant)
• ❌ la amica → ✅ l'amica (before a vowel, la normally becomes l')
• ❌ i studenti → ✅ gli studenti (the plural of lo is gli)
• ❌ Caffè è buono. → ✅ Il caffè è buono. (a general statement keeps the article)

Quick check

Which definite article fits each noun?

1. ____ libro
2. ____ casa
3. ____ studente
4. ____ amica
5. ____ amici (plural)
6. ____ ragazze (plural)

Key takeaways

• The definite article means "the" and has seven forms: il, lo, la, l', i, gli, le.
• Singular: il / lo / l' (masculine), la / l' (feminine). Plural: i / gli (masculine), le (feminine).
• lo and gli are for masculine nouns starting with s + consonant, z, gn, ps, pn, x or y, and gli is also the plural of l' for masculine nouns.
• Before a vowel, both genders take l' in the singular.
• Italian keeps "the" in general statements (Il caffè è buono) but drops it after parlare (Parlo italiano).