Italian · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 4
Un caffè, una pizzaA coffee, a pizza
Italian's first big rule: every noun has a gender. Words in -o are almost always masculine (gelato, libro), words in -a almost always feminine (pizza, casa) — and the article adapts: un caffè, una pizza, un'acqua. If things in your language have no gender, don't look for logic: gender lives in the WORD, not in the thing. Learn every noun together with its article, as one word. Plus: why ciao reads «cha-o» while casa keeps a hard c — the c/g pair.
Dialogue
i
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Un caffè e una pizza— A coffee and a pizza
- MikeBuongiorno! Un caffè, per favore.Good morning! A coffee, please.
- MarcoUn caffè. E…?A coffee. And…?
- MikeE una pizza, per favore!And a pizza, please!
- MarcoEcco: un caffè e una pizza. Prego!Here you go: a coffee and a pizza. There you are!
Dialogue
i
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Un gelato e un'acqua— An ice cream and a water
- GiuliaCiao, Marco! Un gelato e un'acqua, per favore.Hi, Marco! An ice cream and a water, please.
- MarcoEcco un gelato… e un'acqua. Prego!Here's an ice cream… and a water. There you go!
- GiuliaGrazie! E… una casa nuova per Mike? No — un LIBRO nuovo!Thanks! And… a new house for Mike? No — a new BOOK!
Vocabulary
i
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- un caffè
n.m.a coffee, an espresso (masculine — ends in -è, gender memorized with the article)
- una pizza
n.f.a pizza (feminine, -a)
- un'acqua
n.f.a water (feminine + vowel start → un' with apostrophe)
- un gelato
n.m.an ice cream (masculine, -o)
- una casa
n.f.a house, a home (feminine, -a)
- un libro
n.m.a book (masculine, -o)
- un / una / un'
art.a, an — un before masculine, una before feminine, un' before feminine + vowel
- ecco
inter.here is / here you go (the presenting word)
- nuovo / nuova
adjectivenew (m/f)
Grammar
i
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Gender: -o, -a, and the article un/una/un'
Explanation
Every Italian noun is masculine or feminine — always, including names of things. As a rule: -o almost always masculine (gelato, libro), -a almost always feminine (pizza, casa). There is also an -e class that can be either (studente is masculine): for those, the article tells you — learn them together. The article «un»: un + masculine (un caffè, un gelato), una + feminine (una pizza), un' + feminine starting with a vowel (un'acqua). Careful: gender is a property of the WORD. Don't ask why — ask «how does it end?» and listen to the article. From today, every new noun arrives with its article: not «casa» but «una casa».
Examples
- un gelato, un libroan ice cream, a book
- una pizza, una casaa pizza, a house
- un'acqua, un amicoa water, a friend
- un nomea name
- Un caffè e una pizza, per favore.A coffee and a pizza, please.
Grammar
i
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Hard c, soft c — and the protecting h
Explanation
This chapter's one reading rule: c and g change sound before e and i. Before a, o, u they are HARD: casa, caffè… but careful: gelato starts with ge, so it is SOFT «je-lato»! The full rule: ca/co/cu and ga/go/gu = hard sound (casa, amico, gusto); ce/ci and ge/gi = soft sound (ciao «cha-o», gelato «je-lato»). And if you need the hard sound before e/i? Insert an h: che/chi, ghe/ghi (perché «per-KEH», spaghetti «spa-GET-ti»). The h is never pronounced. The other way round: for the soft sound before a/o/u, add a silent i: ciao, già.
Examples
- casa, caffè, amicohouse, coffee, friend
- ciao, gelatohi, ice cream
- perché, spaghettiwhy, spaghetti
- già, ciaoalready, hi
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