The Montessori Elementary Material. Maria Montessori Montessori

Plurale Plural Maschile Femminile Masculine Feminine i gatti le gatte the cats the cats, etc. i giardinieri le giardiniere the gardeners i giovinetti le giovinette the youths gl'infermieri le infermiere the nurses gl'italiani le italiane the Italians i lavoratori le lavoratrici the workers i medici le medichesse the physicians i materassai le materassaie the mattress-makers gli operai le operaie the workmen i pittori le pittrici the painters Singolare Singular Maschile Femminile Masculine Feminine il ragazzo la ragazza the boy the girl, etc. il romano la romana the Roman lo scolare la scolara the scholar il sarto la sarta the tailor il santo la santa the saint il tagliatore la tagliatrice the cutter l'uomo la donna the man il vecchio la vecchia the old man il visitatore la visitatrice the visitor lo zio la zia the uncle Plurale Plural Maschile Femminile Masculine Feminine i ragazzi le ragazze the boys the girls, etc. i romani le romane the Romans gli scolari le scolare the scholars i sarti le sarte the tailors i santi le sante the saints i tagliatori le tagliatrici the cutters gli uomini le donne the men i vecchi le vecchie the old men i visitatori le visitatrici the visitors gli zii le zie the uncles

      Occasionally class exercises are used in our schools for the four forms of the Italian noun, masculine and feminine, singular and plural. They take the form almost of a game, which the children find amusing. A child for instance distributes around the class all the plural nouns. Then he reads aloud a noun in the singular. The child who holds the corresponding plural answers immediately. The same thing is next done for masculine and feminine, and, finally, for all four forms at once.

      When these exercises have become familiar to the child, others somewhat more difficult may be presented. These new ones comprise: nouns which change form completely as they change gender and of which, so far, only the most familiar examples (babbo, "father," mamma, "mother," etc.) have been given (Series A); nouns in which the form is the same in the singular of both genders (Series B); those in which both genders have a common form in the singular and a common form in the plural (Series C); nouns which have only one form for both singular and plural (Series D); nouns where the same form appears