Italian conjugation explanation

La gente singular vs. plural

<p>Although the noun <span style="font-style: italic;">la gente</span> translates to "people" in English and refers to a group of individuals, it is grammatically a <strong>singular collective noun</strong> (feminine singular). Therefore, it always takes a <strong>singular verb</strong> (third person).</p>

<p>This is a very common trap for English speakers. While we say "people <strong>are</strong>" in English, in Italian you must say "la gente <strong>è</strong>" (S/3 form).</p>

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<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/amare/" title="Click to see conjugations for amare" target="_blank">amare</a>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><strong>La gente</strong> <span class="green_emphasis">ama</span> la libertà. (<span style="font-style: italic;">People love freedom.</span>)</div>

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<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/ballare/" title="Click to see conjugations for ballare" target="_blank">ballare</a>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><strong>La gente</strong> <span class="green_emphasis">ballava</span> nelle strade. (<span style="font-style: italic;">People were dancing in the streets.</span>)</div>

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<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/dire/" title="Click to see conjugations for dire" target="_blank">dire</a>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><strong>La gente</strong> <span class="green_emphasis">dice</span> che è troppo caro. (<span style="font-style: italic;">People say it is too expensive.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">Note: Use the singular <span style="font-style: italic;">dice</span>, never the plural <span style="font-style: italic;">dicono</span>.</div>

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<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Agreement with Adjectives and Participles</div>

<p>Because <span style="font-style: italic;">la gente</span> is grammatically <strong>feminine singular</strong>, any adjective describing it must end in <strong style="font-style: italic;">-a</strong>.</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">La gente è <span class="green_emphasis">stanca</span>. (<span style="font-style: italic;">People are tired.</span>)</div>

<p>Similarly, in compound tenses using

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/essere/" title="Click to see conjugations for essere" target="_blank">essere</a>

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/conjugationExplanation/missing_agreement_for_essere_form/" target="_blank">agreement rules</a>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">La gente è <span class="green_emphasis">andata</span> al mare. (<span style="font-style: italic;">People went to the sea.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">La gente si è <span class="green_emphasis">divertita</span>. (<span style="font-style: italic;">People had fun.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Molta, poca, and tanta gente</div>

<p>Phrases with quantifiers behave exactly the same way. Note that the quantifiers also take the feminine singular form (<span style="font-style: italic;">molta</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">poca</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">tanta</span>).</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><strong>Molta gente</strong> <span class="green_emphasis">va</span> a studiare in biblioteca. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Many people go to the library to study.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><strong>Poca gente</strong> <span class="green_emphasis">ha</span> due auto. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Few people have two cars.</span>)</div>