ARTICLES

• The definite masculine singular article il tuns into er:
  

  the cat the dog the pole

  il gatto il cane il palo

  er gatto er cane er palo

  
  Some authors soften this sound, and spell it el (e.g. el gatto, el cane, etc.).
  In other cases, the form ir is also found (e.g. ir gatto, ir cane, etc.): this is how commoners who make an effort to speak standard Italian pronounce article il. This is somewhat laughed upon by ordinary dialect speakers, who refer to this hybrid form as er parlà cciovìle (the good-mannered speaking).
  
  
• The other definite masculine singular article, lo, does not change, although its use is more limited; in particular, before words beginning with "z", lo is usually turned into er:
  

  the rock the stomach the clog

  lo scoglio lo stomaco lo zoccolo

  lo scojo lo stommico er zoccolo

  
  
  
• The masculine plural gli changes into li, forming an elision (l'...) because it is always followed by a vowel:
  

  the eyes the animals the birds

  gli occhi gli animali gli uccelli

  l'occhi l'animali l'ucelli

  
  
• When gli is followed by s + consonant, i.e. gli scaffali (the shelves), gli spaghetti, gli stati (the states), ecc., or by z, i.e. gli zoccoli (the clogs), etc., in classic roman it turns into li:
  

  the shelves the mirrors the uncles the gypsies

  gli scaffali gli speroni gli zii gli zingari

  li scaffali  (modern roman:  i scaffali) li specchi  (modern roman:  i specchi) li zii li zingari

  
  
• The other definite masculine plural article, i, in roman turns into li, without an elision:
  

  the street-lamps the saints the boys

  i lampioni i santi i ragazzi

  li lampioni li santi li regazzi

  
  
• The feminine definite articles la and le do not change.
  
  
• Indefinite articles, uno and una, usually lose their "u", turning into 'no and 'na:
  

  a mirror a goat an apple a clog

  uno specchio una capra una mela uno zoccolo

  'no specchio 'na capra 'na mela 'no zoccolo

  
  
• The other indefinite article un does not change, but if a vowel comes before it, usually the "u" is dropped by elision to obtain a more fluent rhythm; what remains is 'n:
  

  it's a cat! it may be a bit too much he/she climbed a tree

  è un gatto! sarà un po' troppo saliva su un albero

  è 'n gatto! sarà 'n po' ttroppo saliva su 'n arbero

  
  Sometimes the "u" is graphically left in place, but it is not heard, according to the aforesaid rule.
  
  

SUMMARY TABLE OF ARTICLES

- DEFINITE - the (masc. sing.) the (masc. sing.) the (masc. plur.) the (masc. plur.) the (fem. sing.) the (fem. plur.) - INDEFINITE - a (masc.) a (masc.) a (fem.)	il lo i gli la le un uno una	er lo li l'  or  i la le un  ('n) 'no 'na

A further phonetic change occurs when two consecutive consonants, one belonging to the article and one to the following word, produce a sound that roman people judge as "unfamiliar", particularly r + l, r + r, n + l, and n + l. In such cases the first consonant is always dropped, and the second one is doubled, unless it is an "r".
The following table shows all the possible combinations:

ORIGINAL SOUNDS		AS SPOKEN
er l...	→	e' ll...		er lago → e' llago	the lake
un l...	→	u' ll...		un limone → u' llimone	a lemon
un m...	→	u' mm...		un muro → u' mmuro	a wall
un n...	→	u' nn...		un nodo → u' nnodo	a knot
but
er r...	→	e' r...		er rospo → e' rospo	the toad
un r...	→	u' r...		un ramo → u' ramo	a branch

Curiously, the aforesaid change is not found in Belli's sonnets. It is frequently used, instead, in the works of another famous dialect author, Giggi Zanazzo (1860-1911), whose style is reputed the closest to Belli's own.
In today's spoken dialect, this phonetic rule is still commonly followed.

MODERN DIALECT

All roman articles whose first letter is "l" (lo, la, li, le) tend to drop it, especially in the spoken language:

the bride the streets the rag the rocks

CLASSIC la sposa le strade lo straccio li scoji

changes into → changes into → changes into → changes into →

MODERN 'a sposa 'e strade 'o straccio 'i scoji

Note that 'a, 'e, 'o, 'i have the same sound as simple vowels (a, e, o, i), yet their duration is slightly lengthened.

This same change also occurs in forming compound prepositions (see below, and following MODERN DIALECT note).

PREPOSITIONS

	di a da in con su per tra fra
	de a da in co su pe tra fra

• dello, della, dei, degli, delle, turn respectively into de lo, de la, de li, de le.
  Only del remains der (see also the next paragraph, CHANGE OF L INTO R).
  
  

  of the (masc. sing.) of the (masc. sing.) of the (fem. sing.) of the (masc. plur.) of the (masc. plur.) of the (fem. plur.) del dello della dei degli delle der de lo de la de li de li de le

  (examples →)

  der cane de lo stommico de la faccia de li sòrdi de li specchi de le paggine of the dog of the stomach of the face of the money of the mirrors of the pages

  
  
  
• al, allo, alla, etc. change into ar, a lo, a la, etc.
  
  

  to the (masc. sing.) to the (masc. sing.) to the (fem. sing.) to the (masc. plur.) to the (masc. plur.) to the (fem. plur.) al allo alla ai agli alle ar a lo a la a li a li a le

  (examples →)

  ar cane a lo stommico a la faccia a li sòrdi a li specchi a le paggine to the dog to the stomach to the face to the money to the mirrors to the pages

  
  
  
• dallo, dalla, etc. turn into dar, da lo, da la, etc.
  
  

  from the (masc. sing.) from the (masc. sing.) from the (fem. sing.) from the (masc. plur.) from the (masc. plur.) from the (fem. plur.) dal dallo dalla dai dagli dalle dar da lo da la da li da li da le

  (examples →)

  dar cane da lo stommico da la faccia da li sòrdi da li specchi da le paggine from the dog from the stomach from the face from the money from the mirrors from the pages

  
  
  
• nel, nella, etc., follow the same rule: ner, ne lo, ne la, etc.
  
  

  in the (masc. sing.) in the (masc. sing.) in the (fem. sing.) in the (masc. plur.) in the (masc. plur.) in the (fem. plur.)

  nel nello nella nei negli nelle

  ner ne lo ne la ne li ne li ne le

  
  Often de is inserted between the two syllables so to obtain a stronger or more emphatic sound, especially when the preposition is used with a meaning of "inside" (i.e. "in the box", rather than "in the world").
  When de is added, the simple preposition in is used in all cases:
  

  in (inside) the hole in (inside) the closet in (inside) the box in (inside) the wells in (inside) the cellars in (inside) the houses

  nel buco nello stanzino nella scatola nei pozzi negli scantinati nelle case

  ner bucio  or  in der bucio ne lo stanzino  or  in de lo stanzino ne la scatola  or  in de la scatola ne li pozzi  or  in de li pozzi ne li scantinati  or  in de li scantinati ne le case  or  in de le case

  
  The second form is more emphatic, and it is less frequently used than the first one, especially in modern dialect.
  Furthermore, instead of using in, the roman dialect often resorts to the adverb drento ("inside"), more often than standard Italian. In such cases, since drento requires the use of the preposition a in its compound forms, it usually undergoes an elision.
  According to this further change, the aforesaid examples may be turned into:
  

  drent'ar bucio drent'a lo stanzino drent'a la scatola drent'a li pozzi drent'a li scantinati drent'a le case

  
  
  
• col, collo, colla, etc. follow the same rule, and turn into cor, co lo, co la, etc.
  
  

  with the (masc. sing.) with the (masc. sing.) with the (fem. sing.) with the (masc. plur.) with the (masc. plur.) with the (fem. plur.) col con lo / collo colla coi cogli colle cor co lo co la co li co li co le

  (examples →)

  cor cane co lo stommico co la faccia co li sòrdi co li specchi co le paggine with the dog with the stomach with the face with the money with the mirrors with the pages

  
  
  
• sul, sullo, sulla, etc. follow the general rule: sur, su lo, su la, etc.
  
  

  on / over the (masc. sing.) on / over the (masc. sing.) on / over the (fem. sing.) on / over the (masc. plur.) on / over the (masc. plur.) on / over the (fem. plur.)

  sul sullo sulla sui sugli sulle

  sur su lo su la su li su li su le

  
  Often an additional in is added before the standard preposition (in sur, in su lo, etc.), to emphasize it, when the actual meaning is "above, on top of", rather than simply "on", but this is not a strict rule. In this case the sound of "s" is almost as "ts", and therefore sometimes spelt "z" (in zur, in zu lo, etc.):
  

  on the roof on the shelf on the hill on the terraces on the stairs on the leaves

  sul tetto sullo scaffale sulla collina sui terrazzi sugli scalini sulle foglie

  sur tetto  or  in sur (zur) tetto su lo scaffale  or  in su (zu) lo scaffale su la collina  or  in su (zu) la collina su li terrazzi  or  in su (zu) li terrazzi su li scalini  or  in su (zu) li scalini su le foje  or  in su (zu) le foje

  
  The emphatic form is used less frequently, especially in the modern dialect.
  
  
  
• The preposition per ("for, because of") does not bind with articles, but in roman dialect pe and er are contracted by elision into pe'r or, less often, into p'er. Despite the different spelling, they are both pronounced in the same way.
  All the others follow the standard rule.
  

  for the (masc. sing.) for the (masc. sing.) for the (fem. sing.) for the (masc. plur.) for the (masc. plur.) for the (fem. plur.) per il per lo per la per i per gli per le pe'r (p'er) pe lo pe la pe li pe li pe le

  (examples →)

  pe'r cane pe lo stommico pe la faccia pe li sòrdi pe li scopi pe le paggine for the dog for the stomach for the face for the money for the purposes for the pages

  
  
  
• The last two prepositions, tra e fra, both meaning "between, among" and "in" (a length of time), never bind to the articles, thus no particular changes occur.
  

  between / among the (masc. sing.) between / among the (masc. sing.) between / among the (fem. sing.) between / among the (masc. plur.) between / among the (masc. plur.) between / among the (fem. plur.)

  tra / fra il tra / fra lo tra / fra la tra / fra i tra / fra gli tra / fra le

  tra / fra er tra / fra lo tra / fra la tra / fra li tra / fra li tra / fra le

  
  
  As far as now, all the examples have taken into consideration compound prepositions used before words beginning with a consonant. When the following word begins with a vowel, the roman dialect drops the article's vowel by elision, both in singular and plural number, doubling the sound of the article's consonant.
  For instance, the Italian dell' ("of the") in roman turns into de ll' (i.e. de la or de lo without the last vowel, and with a double "l"). Note that both the Italian and the roman dialect forms are pronounced exactly in the same way, despite the space between de and ll'. In fact, some authors simplify this spelling in dell', as in standard Italian. The plural forms for masculine and feminine are identical (de ll'), since they come from de li and de le, although Italian ones are different (degli + vowel and delle + vowel).
  Each preposition follows the aforesaid rule:
  

  of the (masc. and fem. sing.) of the (masc. plur.) of the (fem. plur.) to the (masc. and fem. sing.) to the (masc. plur.) to the (fem. plur.) from the (masc. and fem. sing.) from the (masc. plur.) from the (fem. plur.) in the (masc. and fem. sing.) in the (masc. plur.) in the (fem. plur.) with the (masc. and fem. sing.) with the (masc. plur.) with the (fem. plur.) on the (masc. and fem. sing.) on the (masc. plur.) on the (fem. plur.) for the (masc. and fem. sing.) for the (masc. plur.) for the (fem. plur.) between the (masc. and fem. sing.) between the (masc. plur.) between the (fem. plur.) between the (masc. and fem. sing.) between the (masc. plur.) between the (fem. plur.)

  dell' degli + vowel delle + vowel all' agli + vowel alle + vowel dall' dagli + vowel dalle + vowel nell' negli + vowel nelle + vowel con l' / coll' con gli + vowel con le + vowel sull' sugli + vowel sulle + vowel per l' per gli + vowel per le + vowel tra l' tra gli + vowel tra le + vowel fra l' fra gli + vowel fra le + vowel

  de ll' de ll' de ll' a ll' a ll' a ll' da ll' da ll' da ll' ne ll' ne ll' ne ll' co ll' co ll' co ll' su ll' / in su ll' co ll' / in su ll' co ll' / in su ll' pe ll' pe ll' pe ll' tra ll' tra ll' tra ll' fra ll' fra ll' fra ll'

  de ll'acqua de ll'occhi de ll'ombre a ll'acqua a ll'occhi a ll'ombre

  of the water of the eyes of the shadows to the water to the eyes to the shadows    (etc.)

When the simple preposition co ("with") is followed by the indefinite article un ("a"), it may change into cor for phonetic reasons:

with a knife with a stone with a new dress

con un coltello con un sasso con un vestito nuovo

co 'n cortello  but sometimes  cor un cortello co 'n zasso  but sometimes  cor un zasso co 'n vestito nòvo  but sometimes  cor un vestito nòvo

The form cor un... is the less common of the two.

MODERN DIALECT

• Often preposition cor (i.e. Italian col) is spelt cór, to distinguish it from còr (i.e. còre = "heart").
  However, in roman dialect it is very unlikely for the word còre to be shortened into còr. Therefore, in my opinion the custom of adding an acute accent above the "o" is quite useless; nevertheless, it may remind the reader that in pronouncing the roman preposition cor the vowel "o" should have a very "narrow" or "closed" sound , whereas in the word còre it has a "wide" or "open" sound.
  
  
• Due to loss of the letter "l" by the definite articles (as already said in the relevant paragraph), de lo, co lo, etc. are now pronounced according to the following phonetic rule: while the article drops its "l", the last vowel of the compound preposition (de; co; etc.) turns into the same following vowel, i.e. it is repeated.
  

  of the bride in the stadium in the streets around the woods due to the strike by boat

  CLASSIC de la sposa ne lo stadio ne le strade pe li bboschi pe lo sciopero co la bbarca

  changes into → changes into → changes into → changes into → changes into → changes into →

  MODERN da'a sposa no'o stadio ne'e strade pi'i bboschi po'o sciopero ca'a bbarca

  
  The double vowel separated by an apostrophe should be pronounced without any voice interruption, as if it was one long sound.
  
  
• The preposition su ("on") does not change its vowel:
  

  on the road on the mountains on the roofs

  sulla strada sulle montagne sui tetti

  su'a strada su'e montagne su'i tetti