Let's Speak Italian!

The seven ways to say 'the' are il, lo, l', la, i, gli, and le. Now here are the rules for deciding which of these forms to use. il = will precede masculine singular nouns that begin with a consonant, except words beginning with ps, pn, gn, z and s followed by a consonant. il libro = the book il ragazzo = the boy lo = will precede masculine singular nouns that begin with ps, pn, gn, z and s followed by a consonant. lo specchio = the mirror lo studente = the student l' = will precede all masculine and feminine singular nouns beginning with a vowel. l'amico = the friend l'acqua = the water la = will precede all feminine singular nouns beginning with a consonant. la donna = the woman la ragazza = the girl i = is the plural form of il. i libri = the books i ragazzi = the boys gli = is the plural form of lo and l' for masculine plural nouns. gli specchi = the mirrors gli amici = the friends le = is the plural form of both la and l' for feminine plural nouns. le donne = the women le acque = the waters