| 5.2.7 Nouns which don't distinguish between masculine and feminine |
Many nouns ending in -ante, -ente, -ista don't distinguish between masculine and feminine. In this case, only the article, the accompanying adjective or the context give us a hint whether it is feminine or masculine. The situation is still more complicated, if the noun begins with a vowel (l'inglese). In this case only the adjective or the context allows us to know if we are talking about a woman or a man.
If we are talking about a group and some members of this group are men, then the masculine form is used if we talk about all members of the group. In other words, if we talk about the masculine as well as the feminine members of a group, always the masculine form is used. That may be stupid, but it that' s like that.
| Examples | ||
| il francese => la francese the French |
i francesi => le francesi the French |
|
| l' inglese => l' inglese the japanese |
gli inglesi => le inglesi the japaneses |
|
| il dentista => la dentista the dentist |
i dentisti => le dentiste the dentist |
|
| l' artista => l' artista the artist |
gli artisti => le artiste the artist |
|
| il parente => la parente the relative |
i parenti => le parenti the relatives |
|
| il collega => la collega the workmate |
i colleghi => le colleghe the workmates |
|
| il giovane => la giovane the youngster |
i giovani => le giovani the youngsters |
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