7 The masculine forms  uno  and  un  are used before masculine words: uno  is used before words starting with  z ,  gn ,  ps, s  + consonant; un  is used before all other words: Uno  (like  lo ) is also used before masculine words starting with  i  + vowel,  x ,  y : 8 As with the de fi nite article, care is needed in choosing the right article to use with nouns ending in  -e  or  -a  which can refer to either male or female persons: * In the case of nouns starting with a vowel, the only di ff erence between the articles is the apostrophe. un cantante  [m] una cantante  [f] un insegnante  [m]* un’insegnante  [f]* un collega  [m] una collega  [f] un atleta  [m]* un’atleta  [f]* a singer (male) a singer (female) a teacher (male) a teacher (female) a colleague (male) a colleague (female) an athlete (male) an athlete (female) una ragazza una casa una stanza a girl a house a room uno zio uno gnomo uno psicologo uno chef uno spettacolo un articolo un uomo un hobby un bar un ristorante un senso an uncle a gnome a psychologist a chef a show an article a man a hobby a bar a restaurant a sense uno ione uno yuppie uno xenofobo uno juventino an ion a yuppie a xenophobe a Juventus fan 12 Unit 2