{"id":97,"date":"2009-02-28T12:50:57","date_gmt":"2009-02-28T16:50:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=97"},"modified":"2019-03-05T09:12:53","modified_gmt":"2019-03-05T08:12:53","slug":"using-the-definite-article","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/using-the-definite-article\/","title":{"rendered":"Using the definite article"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Italian we use l\u2019articolo determinativo<\/strong> (the definite article): il, lo, la, i, gli, le<\/strong> (the) more often than in English …<\/span><\/p>\n

… in fact even now after many years of speaking and reading English I still tend to use \u2018the<\/em>\u2019 far too often because, I suppose, it just doesn\u2019t sound right without it! The articolo determinativo<\/em> brings concepts and ideas to life: if I say pane<\/strong> (bread) or vino <\/strong>(wine), they\u00a0could be\u00a0just objects in a shopping list, but if I say il pane, il vino<\/strong> they become concepts. What\u2019s more, the definite article allows us to transform adjectives, verbs, adverbs, etc. into nouns. For example:\u00a0there is the\u00a0old proverb \u2018fra il dire<\/em><\/span> e il fare<\/em><\/span> c\u2019e\u2019 di mezzo il mare<\/strong>\u2019\u00a0<\/strong>which literally means:\u00a0\u2018between the saying<\/em><\/span> and the doing<\/em><\/span> there is the sea\u2019,\u00a0or \u2018conoscere il perche\u2019<\/span><\/em> delle cose<\/strong>\u2019 which means \u2018knowing the why<\/span><\/em> of things\u2019. As you can see from these two examples adding il<\/strong> to dire<\/strong>, and fare<\/strong> transforms them from the verbs \u2018to say\u2019<\/em> and \u2018to do\u2019<\/em> into nouns: \u2018the doing\u2019<\/em>, and \u2018the saying\u2019<\/em>. Likewise adding il<\/strong> to the adverb perche\u2019<\/strong> changes it from \u2018why\u2019<\/em> into \u2018the why\u2019<\/em>.\u00a0The following\u00a0is a\u00a0list of the cases in which the articolo determinativo<\/em> is\u00a0used in Italian:<\/span><\/p>\n

People<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

When talking about<\/span> people we use the articolo determinativo<\/em> before surnames preceded by titles: Questo e\u2019 il signor Rossi <\/strong>(this is Mr Rossi); e\u2019 arrivata la dottoressa Bianchi<\/strong> (Dr Bianchi has arrived); il professor Verdi e\u2019 al telefono<\/strong> (Prof Verdi is on the phone). However, if we are talking directly to someone<\/span>, we don\u2019t use the article: Cosa prende da bere, signor Rossi? <\/strong>(What will you have to drink, Mr. Rossi?); Buongiorno, dottoressa Bianchi<\/strong> (Good morning, Dr Bianchi); Come sta, professor Verdi?<\/strong> (How are you, Prof Verdi?). Notice that in front of a name, the male titles signore, dottore, professore<\/strong>, etc.\u00a0drop the final\u00a0\u2018e<\/strong>\u2019: signor Rossi<\/strong>. We don\u2019t\u00a0normally\u00a0use the article before first names (Mario, Giovanna, etc.), but in certain regions,\u00a0here in\u00a0Tuscany for example, you will often hear the articolo determinativo<\/em> used in spoken Italian when talking about women: la Giovanna e\u2019 ammalata<\/strong> (Giovanna is ill).<\/span><\/p>\n

Geographical places<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

When talking about geographical places we use the articolo determinativo<\/em> before: <\/span><\/p>\n

Continents<\/span>: L\u2019Europa<\/strong> (Europe), l\u2019Africa<\/strong> (Africa);<\/span><\/p>\n

Regions<\/span>: La Toscana<\/strong> (Tuscany), la Normandia<\/strong> (Normandy);<\/span><\/p>\n

Countries<\/span>: L\u2019Italia<\/strong> (Italy), la Francia<\/strong> (France);<\/span><\/p>\n

Large Islands<\/span>: La Sicilia <\/strong>(Sicily), la Sardegna<\/strong> (Sardinia);<\/span><\/p>\n

Lakes and rivers<\/span>: Il lago di Garda<\/strong> (Lake Garda), il Tevere<\/strong> (the Tiber);<\/span><\/p>\n

Mountains and volcanoes<\/span>: Le Alpi Apuane <\/strong>(the Apuan Alps), il Vesuvio<\/strong> (the Vesuvius);<\/span><\/p>\n

We don\u2019t, however, normally\u00a0use the article in front of names of cities, towns and villages: Roma e\u2019 la capitale dell\u2019Italia<\/strong> (Rome is the capital of Italy), but there are a few exceptions: La Spezia<\/strong> and L\u2019Aquila<\/strong> in Italy, Il Cairo <\/strong>in Egypt, L\u2019Aia<\/strong> in Holland, and La Mecca <\/strong>in Saudi Arabia.<\/span><\/p>\n

We also use the articolo determinativo<\/em> in the following cases:<\/span><\/p>\n

Languages<\/span><\/strong>:\u00a0l\u2019italiano e\u2019 difficile<\/strong> (Italian is difficult); studio il francese<\/strong> (I study French).<\/span><\/p>\n

Nouns used in a general, collective sense<\/span><\/strong>: gli amici sono importanti<\/strong> (friends are important); le lingue sono utili<\/strong> (languages are useful); i gatti sono animali felini <\/strong>(cats are feline animals); il cane e\u2019 il miglior amico dell\u2019uomo<\/strong> (dog is man\u2019s best friend).<\/span><\/p>\n

Substances and categories<\/span><\/strong>: lo zucchero e\u2019 un dolcificante<\/strong> (sugar is a sweetener); il calcio e\u2019 lo sport piu\u2019 popolare in Italia<\/strong> (football is the most popular sport in Italy); l\u2019oro e\u2019 un metallo prezioso<\/strong> (gold is a precious metal).<\/span><\/p>\n

Abstract nouns, ideas<\/span><\/strong>: la musica<\/strong> (music), la poesia<\/strong> (poetry), la guerra<\/strong> (war).<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, we always use the articolo determinativo<\/em> before the possessive adjective, e.g.\u00a0il mio libro <\/strong>(my book), with the exception of singular members of the family: mia sorella<\/strong> (my sister). For further explanation see my post: https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/mamma-mia\/<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n

Basta, la mia mente e\u2019 confusa!<\/strong> (Enough, my mind is confused!)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Italian we use l\u2019articolo determinativo (the definite article): il, lo, la, i, gli, le (the) more often than in English … … in fact even now after many years of speaking and reading English I still tend to use \u2018the\u2019 far too often because, I suppose, it just doesn\u2019t sound right without it! The…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[893],"class_list":["post-97","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-grammar","tag-using-the-definite-article-in-italian"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t