In today’s exercise, we’re going to focus on the aggettivo ‘bello’ (adjective ‘beautiful, nice‘). As with the preposizioni articolate, the Italian adjective bello models its ending on the definite articles il, lo, la, i, gli, and le (the) when followed by a noun (see links to articles about the preposizioni articolate at the end of this blog).

Let’s begin by looking at how this adjective corresponds to definite articles. Then you can have a go at an exercise that requires you to fill in the blanks in the Italian text. You’ll find the answers hidden at the end of the blog.

il = masculine singular, e.g. il quadro.
Corresponding adjective ‘bel‘, e.g. un bel quadro (a beautiful painting)

lo = masculine singular, used before ‘s’ plus a consonant, ‘z’, or a vowel, e.g. lo specchio, lo zaino. N.B. lo becomes l’ before a vowel, e.g. l’albero.
Corresponding adjective ‘bello‘, e.g. un bello specchio, or before a vowel bell’, e.g un bell’albero (a beautiful mirror, a beautiful tree)

la = feminine singular, e.g. la rosa. N.B. la becomes l’ before a vowel, e.g. l’idea.
Corresponding adjective ‘bella‘, e.g. una bella rosa (a beautiful chair), or before a vowel bell’, e.g. una bell’idea(a nice idea).

i = masculine plural, e.g. i quadri.
Corresponding adjective ‘bei‘, e.g. questi bei quadri (these beautiful paintings)

gli = masculine plural, used before ‘s’ plus a consonant, ‘z’, or a vowel e.g. gli specchi, gli zaini, gli alberi.
Corresponding adjective ‘begli‘, e.g. questi begli specchi (these beautiful mirrors)

le = feminine plural, e.g. le rose.
Corresponding adjective ‘belle‘, e.g. queste belle rose (these beautiful roses)

Exercise

Now fill in the gap in the Italian sentences with the correct aggettivo:

What a beautiful baby!
Che ___ bambino!

In the Art Gallery in Parma there’s a beautiful sketch by Leonardo da Vinci
Alla Pinacoteca di Parma c’è un ___ schizzo di Leonardo da Vinci

I bought a beautiful pair of shoes in the sales
Nei saldi ho comprato un ___ paio di scarpe

Rosalba was given some beautiful white orchids
A Rosalba hanno regalato delle ___ orchidee bianche

I saw two lovely squirrels when I was walking in the woods
Camminando per il bosco ho visto due ___ scoiattoli

The sky is a beautiful deep blue today
Oggi il cielo è di un ___ azzurro intenso

There are many beautiful buildings in Florence
A Firenze ci sono tanti ___ palazzi

Now, this is a nice big rucksack
Questo sì che è un ___ zaino grande

Giovanni Pascoli wrote a nice poem about the Befana
Giovanni Pascoli ha scritto una ___ poesia sulla Befana

Now I’m going to make myself a nice salad
Ora mi faccio una ___ insalata

What beautiful green eyes this cat has!
Che ___ occhi verdi ha questo gatto!

When I was a child I spent many beautiful summers at my grandparents’ house
Da bambina ho passato tante ___ estati dai miei nonni

Can I have two hundred grams of these lovely dates, please?
Posso avere due etti di questi ___ datteri, per piacere?

 

Click here to see the answers.

What a beautiful baby!
Che bel bambino!

In the Art Gallery in Parma there’s a beautiful sketch by Leonardo da Vinci
Alla Pinacoteca di Parma c’è un bello schizzo di Leonardo da Vinci

I bought a beautiful pair of shoes in the sales
Nei saldi ho comprato un bel paio di scarpe

Rosalba was given some beautiful white orchids
A Rosalba hanno regalato delle belle orchidee bianche

I saw two lovely squirrels when I was walking in the woods
Camminando per il bosco ho visto due begli scoiattoli

The sky is a beautiful deep blue today
Oggi il cielo è di un bell’azzurro intenso

There are many beautiful buildings in Florence
A Firenze ci sono tanti bei palazzi

Now, that is a nice big rucksack
Questo sì che è un bello zaino grande

Giovanni Pascoli wrote a nice poem about the Befana
Giovanni Pascoli ha scritto una bella poesia sulla Befana

Now I’m going to make myself a nice salad
Ora mi faccio una bell’insalata

What beautiful green eyes this cat has!
Che begli occhi verdi ha questo gatto!

When I was a child I spent many beautiful summers at my grandparents’ house
Da bambina ho passato tante belle estati dai miei nonni

Can I have two hundred grams of these lovely dates, please?
Posso avere due etti di questi bei datteri, per piacere?

 

N.B. If you’re browser or app doesn’t allow you to see the answers let me know and I’ll post them in the comments section.

Links to articles on the five main preposizioni articolate (preposition/article combinations):

Combining Prepositions With Articles – Part 1.

Combining Prepositions With Articles – Part 2.

Combining Prepositions With Articles – Part 3.

Combining Prepositions With Articles – Part 4.

Combining Prepositions With Articles – Part 5.