Masculine and feminine in Italian
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The Italian language distinguishes two genders: masculine and feminine.
Be careful! Italian nouns always have a gender (even animals and things).
According to gender, we can identify four categories
masculine in -o
masculine in -e
feminine in -a
feminine in -e
Masculine | Italian | English |
---|---|---|
-o | albero | tree |
-e | fiore | flower |
Feminine | Italian | English |
---|---|---|
-a | bottiglia | bottle |
-e | stazione | station |
Here some tricks to recognize the gender of nouns ending in -e:
masculine: -ore, -ale, -ile
feminine: -ione, -udine, -ice
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The grammatical gender follows the natural one
The grammatical gender is just a language convention
masculine: tavolo, cappotto
table, coat
feminine: fiaba, maglia
fairy tale, shirt
Here some tricks to recognize the gender of inanimated beings
Masculine | Feminine | |
---|---|---|
Categories | trees chemical elements months, days of the week seas, mountains, lakes, rivers | fruits |
Endings | -o, -consonant (foreign origine) | -a, - i, -tà, -tù |
A lot of Italian nouns, in particular nouns of animated beings, can have both masculine and feminine forms.
In general, Italian nouns create the feminine form (or the masculine one) by editing their ending
Masculine | Feminine | Italian | English |
---|---|---|---|
-o | -a | nonno → nonna | grandfather → grandmother |
-e | -a | parrucchiere → parrucchiera | male hairdresser → female hairdresser |
A lot of nouns form their feminine form (or the masculine one) in an irregular way
Irregularities | Features | Italian | English |
---|---|---|---|
complete irregularity | two different words | fratello → sorella | brother → sister |
common gender | same form + different article | l(o)' artista →l(a)'artista | male artist → female artist |
promiscuous gender | same form + same article | (il) coniglio | rabbit |
suffix changing | same root + different suffix | studente → studentessa | male student → female student |
change of meaning | two different meanings | (il) caso → (la) casa | fate → house |
These nouns have two differents words for each gender
genero → nuora
son-in-law → daughter-in-law
dio → dea
god → goddess
These nouns (professions, jobs...) have the same form both for masculine and feminine. Just the article can distinguish the two genders.
(il) cantante → (la) cantante
male singer → female singer
(il) nipote → (la) nipote
nephew/grandson →niece/granddaughter
These nouns have just one form for both genders. Even the article is the same.
(la) vittima
victim
(il) medico
doctor
That works especially with nouns referring to animals. If you want to indicate the female animal, you have to specify it.
(il) leopardo → (il) leopardo femmina
male leopard → female leopard
(la) zebra→ (la) zebra maschio
female zebra → male zebra
The only exception are gatto→gatta (male cat → female cat) and cane → cagna (male dog → female dog)
These nouns keep their root but they change the suffix in the following way: -tore → -trice, -e → -essa, -a → -essa
attore → attrice
actor → actress
professore → professoressa
male teacher → female teacher
poeta → poetessa
poet → poetess
These nouns have a different meaning in masculine and feminine forms
(il) buco → (la) buca
hole → pit
(il) baleno → (la) balena
flash → whale
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Hi, guys! My name is Lucia and I would like to invite you to learn Italian with me.
I am both a native speaker and a QUALIFIED teacher, as I hold a post-graduate degree in “Teaching Italian as a second language” and a national certification as teacher of Italian to not-native speaking.
My teaching method is COMMUNICATION-oriented and involves also the study of Italian culture and grammar. Indeed, as it happens in your mother language, the knowledge of spare words is not enough to get able to speak (i.e. INTERACT!) properly and conveniently.
I’ll prepare for you all teaching materials, tailoring lessons to your needs and interests, taking advantage from both the huge number of textbooks I hold and my creativity!
I offer lessons for all levels, from absolute beginners to advanced, as well as support in preparation to certification exams (I am also qualified ad examiner for the oral part of CELI).
Do not hesitate to get in contact with me to find a suitable time-slot for your trial lesson!
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Lucia is an excellent teacher of the Italian language with an excellent methodology, with a perfectly organized and individualized teaching program that meets the needs and level of each student and with a willingness to offer multidimensional tools to achieve the purpose of the courses. At the same time, she is an extremely noble and pleasant person, with amazing contagion in her field! An excellent teacher whom I feel extremely lucky to have met!
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Hello, my name is Francesca.
I am qualified Italian teacher.
I love teaching and my lessons are always tailored on your goals. During the first lesson, we will identify what you want to learn or to improve and I will design your lessons.
My approach is largely conversational: that is role-plays, informal conversation or other activites to help you. I welcome beginners right up to proficient speakers.
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Like the times before, it was perfect and a lot of fun. I am interested in the subject and I like to tell a lot and show Italian videos that are new to Francesca :-)
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Hi everyone!
My name is Daniela, I am Italian and I come from a small town in Sicily, Southern Italy. I am a qualified Italian language teacher and a CELI examiner! I work in two language schools teaching Italian and I also teach English at school.
I love foreign languages, translating, reading and listening to music. Are you ready to start your language learning path with me? We are going to learn many things and to talk a lot, if you allow me to! Don’t worry if you’ve never studied the language before: everyone can attend my classes – from beginner to advanced students. You just need passion for what you're going to do and... a good Internet connection. Materials are provided by me!
See you online!
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Daniela has tailored our lessons to exactly what I asked for (B1 exam preparations). She is very prepared for all of our lessons and provides extra study material for me to complete as homework. I would recommend her as a tutor.
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Hi everyone!
My name is Daniela, I am Italian and I come from a small town in Sicily, Southern Italy. I am a qualified Italian language teacher and a CELI examiner! I work in two language schools teaching Italian and I also teach English at school.
I love foreign languages, translating, reading and listening to music. Are you ready to start your language learning path with me? We are going to learn many things and to talk a lot, if you allow me to! Don’t worry if you’ve never studied the language before: everyone can attend my classes – from beginner to advanced students. You just need passion for what you're going to do and... a good Internet connection. Materials are provided by me!
See you online!
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Daniela is a fantastic teacher: competent and kind and attentive to the needs of the student. You learn a lot due to the lesson and the abundant learning material. Moreover you learn and have fun at the same time.
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Hello, everybody ! My name is Elena. I’m a native Italian speaker, I’m 49 years old and live in Turin. I am a certified CEDILS teacher, I graduated in Foreign Languages and Literature in Milan and have been working as a teacher of Italian for more than 10 years. I speak English and German. I attended specialization courses for Italian L2 teachers and I am interviewer for C1 PLIDA exam.
Are you seeking a friendly and dynamic study environment ? I got what you need. I am looking forward to being in touch with new students and organize pleasant, interesting and fruitful courses.
Do you wish to learn or improve your Italian to speak with your parents or friends? Do you need Italian for work or study ? Do you simply love Italian language and culture ? Do you need to improve your writing skills ?
My classes are tailored on your needs and considering your level of knowledge, I create a proper course plan. Classes focus on language and on the possibility for you to improve your ability to speak and understand Italian in your daily life or in work.
I offer 1-to-1 or 2-to-1 tuition, general Italian courses (grammar, conversation, listening, reading and writing), preparation to Italian examinations (all levels, also Italian for residence permit) and Italian and culture courses.
Grammar, vocabulary exercises, reading articles and magazines and talking together are all tools to feel at ease with the Italian language and then be able to practice it.
I have worked with children, adolescents and adults for all levels of Italian, from beginner to advanced. I have experience in preparing students to international certification (CILS, PLIDA). I was an A2/B1 Telc examiner.
Learning Italian can be closely related to culture, literature, music, sport and any other interest of my students.
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Elena is a great teacher. She adapts really well to the individual level and needs of the student and easily identifies whatever it is you are struggling with. Elena teaches as a profession, and this really makes a big difference. She explains very clearly and the lessons are always fun.
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Hello, everybody ! My name is Elena. I’m a native Italian speaker, I’m 49 years old and live in Turin. I am a certified CEDILS teacher, I graduated in Foreign Languages and Literature in Milan and have been working as a teacher of Italian for more than 10 years. I speak English and German. I attended specialization courses for Italian L2 teachers and I am interviewer for C1 PLIDA exam.
Are you seeking a friendly and dynamic study environment ? I got what you need. I am looking forward to being in touch with new students and organize pleasant, interesting and fruitful courses.
Do you wish to learn or improve your Italian to speak with your parents or friends? Do you need Italian for work or study ? Do you simply love Italian language and culture ? Do you need to improve your writing skills ?
My classes are tailored on your needs and considering your level of knowledge, I create a proper course plan. Classes focus on language and on the possibility for you to improve your ability to speak and understand Italian in your daily life or in work.
I offer 1-to-1 or 2-to-1 tuition, general Italian courses (grammar, conversation, listening, reading and writing), preparation to Italian examinations (all levels, also Italian for residence permit) and Italian and culture courses.
Grammar, vocabulary exercises, reading articles and magazines and talking together are all tools to feel at ease with the Italian language and then be able to practice it.
I have worked with children, adolescents and adults for all levels of Italian, from beginner to advanced. I have experience in preparing students to international certification (CILS, PLIDA). I was an A2/B1 Telc examiner.
Learning Italian can be closely related to culture, literature, music, sport and any other interest of my students.
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Elena is an excellent, experienced teacher. A true professional. She is patient with my beginner-level Italian language skills. She will quickly assess your skill level (or lack thereof) and present an appropriate level of instruction to ensure rapid growth. She will encourage you to use Italian during lessons to expedite your learning curve. I highly recommend her.
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I am a qualified teacher with a Bachelor's Degree in Education and a TESOL certificate. I will make you fall in love with English or Afrikaans. My goal is to make learning as fun and exiting as possible by using these methods in class: singing, dancing, games, role play and using fun colorful resources. I can help you with anything from pronunciation, grammer, reading and writing, phonics and building your vocabulary.
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Magda has a lot of experience and is well-structured. She offers a lot of materials. I would totally recommend her.
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
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Hello, I'm Paul originally from London, I've been teaching adults for 9 years online and in person, individually and in groups. I'm passionate about teaching and helping people improve their communication, I really like travelling and realise how important english can be for people's jobs and social lives so I do whatever I can so my students reach their objectives.
I love hearing people's opinions and discussing lots of subjects and I base my classes on your interests.
I have a very high success rate preparing students for exams and can offer some great tips and advice to help you pass whatever exam you're studying for.
If you'd like to meet to discuss your needs select a free lesson and you can see if you think I'm the right person to help you with your English. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thanks!
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Paul is a well-structrured, certified and experienced teacher. He is passionate about teaching English and is a very good choice as a teacher.
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
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I am a private teacher in English, German and Italian. I am a Master's graduate in Translation and Interpreting at the University of Genoa, Italy. I am Italian native speaker. I know English and German at C2 level and Russian at B2 level.
I have been studying English for the last 15 years, first at school and then at the university and I have improved it on my frequent stays abroad. I have now been teaching English for 4 years, first to school children and teenagers and now adults too. I have experience teaching online and at home. I also have taught group classes.
Being fluent in several languages allows me to give students further explainations in their native language when needed. This also allows me to put myself in my students' shoes and understand better their difficulties. I try to meet the student's personal needs and objectives rather than impose my standard class.
During my classes I focus on the active skills of language, speaking and writing. I often ask students to do presentations so they practice writing and speaking at once. I strongly encourage self-studying along with frontal teaching in order to considerably shorten learning time. Homework is for me as important as frontal classes. If needed, I can provide students with textbooks and online material such as videos, news, songs and textes.
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Federico is an exceptional teacher. He is patient, knowledgable and makes learning much less stressful. In the short time I've been working with him I feel that my Italian has grown so much faster. He has so many resources to share with his students and helps to coach me through the difficult parts of language learning! I highly recommend him to anyone wanted to learn Italian, it is truly a wonderful experience.
Federico C.Thank you Dan for the great review! A student like you makes everything easier. I hope to continue like that!
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Hello my name is Lucia and I am a native Italian speaker.
I have a degree as an interpreter for English and French so I know how hard it may be to learn a foreign language. I work as a free-lance interpreter and private English and French teacher. I have a strong passion for languages which I have been studying for many years. I am studying Spanish now and always trying to improve my English and French knowledge. I am a friendly person and my lessons mainly focus on conversation. As a teacher I am very patient and I always propose tailor-made lessons with respect to your needs. I am really enthusiastic about being a teacher because this activity allows you to share your culture and habits with foreign people. Learning a language is also learning a new culture.
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Lucia is wonderful! I found her to have all the qualities one looks for a teacher: she is kind, patient, intelligent, supportive and she explains in easier Italian when I don‘t understand a word or expression.
Lucia Maria C.Dear Giuliana, thank you so much for your review. I am sure that you will make a lot of progress thanks to your motivation and commitment. See you next lesson :)
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Hello my name is Lucia and I am a native Italian speaker.
I have a degree as an interpreter for English and French so I know how hard it may be to learn a foreign language. I work as a free-lance interpreter and private English and French teacher. I have a strong passion for languages which I have been studying for many years. I am studying Spanish now and always trying to improve my English and French knowledge. I am a friendly person and my lessons mainly focus on conversation. As a teacher I am very patient and I always propose tailor-made lessons with respect to your needs. I am really enthusiastic about being a teacher because this activity allows you to share your culture and habits with foreign people. Learning a language is also learning a new culture.
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Lucia is wonderful! I have no experience with Italian and it has thus far been a lovely fun process. She is easy to schedule with. Sends documents with notes/teaching points from each of our lessons immediately and tailors lesson to exactly my level/experience. Would highly recommend!
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Hi everyone!
My name is Daniela, I am Italian and I come from a small town in Sicily, Southern Italy. I am a qualified Italian language teacher and a CELI examiner! I work in two language schools teaching Italian and I also teach English at school.
I love foreign languages, translating, reading and listening to music. Are you ready to start your language learning path with me? We are going to learn many things and to talk a lot, if you allow me to! Don’t worry if you’ve never studied the language before: everyone can attend my classes – from beginner to advanced students. You just need passion for what you're going to do and... a good Internet connection. Materials are provided by me!
See you online!
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Taking lessons with Daniela was a pleasure. She was always well prepared, she gave all necessary information and materials I needed. The lessons were really good - I could practice grammar, speaking etc. Highly recommended :)
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Responds to needs and also suggests alternatives. Perfect all around. I can only recommend it to everyone.
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I'm a certified Italian teacher based in my hometown Florence. I spent my childhood in a small village in the Chianti countryside and I always loved to explore curious aspects of different languages. I studied Arabic, English, French and Spanish and I like to help students with practical insights into Italian language to better fix the structures and improve pronunciation, grammar and conversation. After my studies (master degree in teaching Italian as a second language + CEDILS certificate - teaching Italian to foreign students), I taught in different contexts and countries (IIC of Beirut, private schools in Prague, companies in Malta and Florence and to many many private students!).
I try each time to adapt to every student's needs, with mainly one goal: making every student enthusiastic about the learning process and more and more confident. I use a communicative approach and I can offer classes of Italian languages, cinema, culture, gestures, focuses on grammar, conversation, etc.
A presto!
Olivia
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The lesson answered all my expectations. The conversation was fluent. Olivia was very sensitive to my goals. I thank her for this lovely experience. to be continued… 12 weeks later, and I am so satisfied and grateful. The lessons are lively and fun. to be continued...
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Are you doing an Erasmus in Italy or Spain?
Are you came back recently?
Do you want a languages certification?
Here i am! I'm Andrea an Italian/spanish teacher that living in Spain. I got a Teaching Master and I'm working as italian teacher. Also, I have a C1 spanish level ( DELE certification) and I can teach you both languages.
Send me a request and we can find the best solution for you ;)
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It's very useful to go through writing I have done and discuss other ways of expressing the same idea.
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