Grammar Lesson 6

The Italian Indefinite Article (l'articolo indeterminativo)

The indefinite article is the equivalent to the English a / an.

The indefinite article has either the masculine or the feminine singular form (there is only singular no plural):

Masculine (Singular)	Usage
un	before all consonants [except for z, impure s (s+consonant), x, ps, gn] and vowels
uno	before z, impure s (s+consonant), x, ps, gn

Examples:

UN (masculine)	UNO (masculine)
• un cancello / a gate • un marziano / a martian • un nodo / a knot • un traguardo / a finishing line • un sasso / a stone • un arco / a bow • un elfo / an elf • un istrice / a porcupine • un otre / a leather bottle • un uragano / a hurricane	• uno zoccolo / a clog (but also a hoof) • uno strappo muscolare / a pulled muscle • uno psicologo / a psychologist • uno gnomo / a gnome

Feminine (Singular)	Usage
una	before consonants
un'	before vowels

Examples:

UNA (feminine)	UN' (feminine)
una casa / a house una freccia / an arrow una giraffa / a giraffe una marmotta / a woodchuck una storia / a story	un'allodola / a lark un'elica / a screw propeller un'idea / an idea un'onda / a wave un'umiliazione / a humiliation

Using the indefinite article Un' (feminine) before a masculine noun beginning with a vowel is a common mistake:

Un altro giorno (Correct!)
Un'altro giorno (Wrong!)

("un altro giorno" means "another day")

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