Italian and English differ in their usage of adjectives. Italian descriptive adjectives are usually placed after the noun they modify, and with which they agree in gender and number.
COMMON ITALIAN ADJECTIVES ENDING IN -O
allegro
cheerful, happy
buono
good, kind
cattivo
bad, wicked
freddo
cold
grasso
fat
leggero
light
nuovo
new
pieno
full
stretto
narrow
timido
timid, shy
Adjectives ending in -o have four forms: masculine singular, masculine plural, feminine singular, and feminine plural. Observe how the adjectives nero and cattivo change to agree with nouns they modify.
ENDINGS OF -O ADJECTIVES
SINGULAR
PLURAL
il gatto nero (the black cat, masculine)
i gatti neri (the black cats, masculine)
la gatta nera (the black cat, feminine)
le gatte nere (the black cats, feminine)
il ragazzo cattivo (the bad boy)
i ragazzi cattivi (the bad boys)
la ragazza cattiva (the bad girl)
le ragazze cattive (the bad girls)
Note that when an adjective modifies two nouns of different gender, it retains its masculine ending. For example: i padri e le madre italiani (Italian fathers and mothers).
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