The Plural of Nouns: Nouns Ending in -ca / -ga, -cia / -gia

We have learnt that in general in Italian:

• Singular nouns ending in -a are pluralized by changing their ending in -i / -e (masculine / feminine)
• Singular nouns ending in -o are pluralized by changing their ending in -i (both masculine and feminine)
• Singular nouns ending in -e are pluralized by changing their ending in -i (both masculine and feminine)

Let’s now have a deeper look at each class.

NOUNS ENDING IN -a

Singular nouns ending in -ca / -ga are pluralized by changing their ending to:

• -chi / ghi (when masculine)
• -che / ghe (when feminine)

(technically the h is inserted before the ending -i to keep the velar sound of Italian c and g)

Examples:

(il) duca (duke) / (i) duchi (dukes)
(lo) stratega (strategist) / (gli) strateghi (strategists)
(la) pinacoteca (art gallery) / (le) pinacoteche (art galleries)
(la) strega (witch) / (le) streghe (witches)

Exceptions:

(il) belga (Belgian) / (i) Belgi (Belgians)

Singular feminine nouns ending in -cia / -gia are pluralized by changing their ending to:

• -cie / gie (when the letter c / g comes after a vowel)
• -ce / ge (when the letter c / g comes after a consonant)

Examples:

(la) camicia (shirt) / (le) camicie (shirts)
(la) valigia (suitcase) / (le) valigie (suitcases)
(la) torcia (torch) / (le) torce (art galleries)