{"id":9861,"date":"2015-08-19T19:23:09","date_gmt":"2015-08-19T17:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=9861"},"modified":"2015-08-19T19:23:09","modified_gmt":"2015-08-19T17:23:09","slug":"lo-and-behold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/lo-and-behold\/","title":{"rendered":"Lo and Behold!"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the many mysteries of the Italian language is the crazy amount of ways of saying ‘the’. Not content with having il<\/strong>,i<\/strong>,la<\/strong>,le<\/strong> and l’<\/strong> the Italians just had to come up with lo<\/strong> and gli<\/strong>! Well, ours is not to reason why … but to find out when and how.<\/p>\n

Rules for using lo\/gli:<\/u><\/span><\/p>\n

1.<\/span> when a masculine word begins with the letter \u2018s\u2019 followed by another consonant, e.g.:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"gli<\/a><\/p>\n

Gli spazzacamini di una volta<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

lo spazzacamino<\/strong> = the chimney sweep, plural: gli spazzacamini<\/strong>, e.g. \u00e8 arrivato lo spazzacamino<\/strong> = the chimney sweep has arrived
\nlo scoiattolo<\/strong> = the squirrel, plural: gli scoiattoli<\/strong>, e.g. Renata ci ha fatto vedere gli scoiattoli che ha fatto imbalsamare<\/strong> = Renata showed us the squirrels that she had had embalmed
\nlo specchio<\/strong> = the mirror, plural: gli specchi<\/strong>, e.g. preferisco lo specchio con la cornice dorata<\/strong> = I prefer the mirror with the golden frame
\nlo scrittore<\/strong> = the writer, plural: gli scrittori<\/strong>, e.g. Giovanni, l\u2019amico di Davide, vuole fare lo scrittore<\/strong> = Davide\u2019s friend, Giovanni, wants to be a writer
\nlo studente<\/strong> = the student, plural: gli studenti<\/strong>, e.g. gli studenti sono in vacanza<\/strong> = the students are on holiday<\/p>\n

2.<\/span> when a masculine word begins with the letter \u2018z\u2019, e.g.:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Gli zoccoli<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

lo zaino<\/strong> = the rucksack, plural: gli zaini<\/strong>, e.g. abbiamo lasciato gli zaini in macchina<\/strong> = we left the rucksacks in the car
\nlo zerbino<\/strong> = the doormat, plural: gli zerbini<\/strong>, e.g. lo zerbino \u00e8 tutto infangato<\/strong> = the doormat is all muddy
\nlo zio<\/strong> = the uncle, plural: gli zii<\/strong>, e.g. questo \u00e8 lo zio di Giovanni<\/strong> = this is Giovanni\u2019s uncle
\nlo zoccolo<\/strong> = the clog, plural: gli zoccoli<\/strong>, e.g. gli zoccoli sono consumati<\/strong> = the clogs are worn out
\nlo zucchero<\/strong> = the sugar, plural: gli zuccheri<\/strong>, e.g. dicono che lo zucchero di canna fa meglio di quello bianco<\/strong> = they say that cane sugar is healthier than white sugar<\/p>\n

3.<\/span> when a masculine word begins with a vowel: a, e, i, o, u. In this case we drop the \u2018o\u2019 from the lo<\/strong> and put an apostrophe instead, e.g.:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

L’ombrello.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

l\u2019albero<\/strong> = the tree, plural: gli alberi<\/strong>, e.g. quest\u2019anno gli alberi di mele hanno fatto molti frutti<\/strong> = this year the apple trees made a lot of fruit
\nl\u2019elefante<\/strong> = the elephant, plural: gli elefanti<\/strong>, e.g. gli elefanti africani sono pi\u00f9 grandi di quelli indiani<\/strong> = African elephants are bigger than the Indian ones
\nl\u2019imbuto <\/strong>= the funnel, plural: gli imbuti<\/strong>, e.g. mi passi l\u2019imbuto, per favore?<\/strong> = can you pass me the funnel, please?
\nl\u2019ombrello<\/strong> = the umbrella, plural: gli ombrelli<\/strong>, e.g. prendi l\u2019ombrello, che piove<\/strong> = bring the umbrella because it\u2019s raining
\nl\u2019uscio<\/strong> = the house door, plural: gli usci<\/strong>, e.g. l\u2019uscio \u00e8 chiuso a chiave<\/strong> = the house door is locked<\/p>\n

There are three more groups of words that require the article lo\/gli<\/strong>, but they are quite limited. They are:<\/span><\/p>\n

masculine words starting with \u2018ps<\/strong>\u2019, e.g.
\nlo psicologo<\/strong> = the psychologist, plural: gli psicologi<\/strong>
\nlo psichiatra<\/strong> = the psychiatrist, plural: gli psichiatri<\/strong><\/p>\n

masculine words starting with \u2018pn<\/strong>\u2019, e.g.
\nlo pneumatico<\/strong> = the tyre, plural: gli pneumatici<\/strong>. N.B. most people tend to say il pneumatico<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

masculine words staring with \u2018gn<\/strong>\u2019, e.g.
\nlo gnocco<\/strong> = the dumpling, plural: gli gnocchi<\/strong>. N.B. it\u2019s very common to hear i gnocchi<\/strong>
\nlo gnomo<\/strong> = the gnome, plural: gli gnomi<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s your turn! Put the correct article into the following sentences:<\/p>\n

il mio televisore nuovo ha \u2026 schermo da 40 pollici<\/strong> = my new TV set has a 40 inch screen
\nmi fa male \u2026 schiena<\/strong> = my back is hurting
\nMario ha \u2026 occhi marroni<\/strong> = Mario has brown eyes
\nLucia \u00e8 \u2026 zia di Andrea<\/strong> = Lucia is Andrea\u2019s auntie
\ni pipistrelli hanno \u2026 ali pur essendo dei mammiferi<\/strong> = bats have wings despite being mammals<\/p>\n

… alla prossima!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

One of the many mysteries of the Italian language is the crazy amount of ways of saying ‘the’. Not content with having il,i,la,le and l’ the Italians just had to come up with lo and gli! Well, ours is not to reason why … but to find out when and how. Rules for using lo\/gli…<\/p>\n

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