Plurals
Italian nouns form the plural by changing the final vowel, not by adding -s.
The regular pattern: -o becomes -i (il libro → i libri), -a becomes -e (la casa → le case), and -e becomes -i (il fiore → i fiori, la notte → le notti). The article changes with the noun.
Nouns that already end in a stressed vowel (città, caffè), nouns ending in a consonant (bar, film) and abbreviations (foto, moto) do not change in the plural — only the article does: la città → le città.
Watch spelling with -co and -go: amico → amici but albergo → alberghi; feminine -ca and -ga always add h: amica → amiche. A few common nouns are irregular: l'uomo → gli uomini, il dito → le dita (feminine plural).
Examples
- un libro, due libri one book, two books
- la casa, le case the house, the houses
- la città, le città the city, the cities
- l'amico, gli amici; l'amica, le amiche the friend (m.), the friends; the friend (f.), the friends
- l'uomo, gli uomini the man, the men
Common mistake
Adding an s as in English (libros) — Italian plurals change the final vowel: libri, case, fiori.