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3.12: Partitivi

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    In English the partitive is expressed by using some, any, or a few. In Italian the partitive is expressed as follows:

    qualche, alcuni/e, un po’, or  di + article
    qualche (invariable) + singular noun 
    Qualche amico gioca a pallavolo. 
Some friends play volleyball.
    Vado a Sorrento per qualche giorno. 
I am going to Sorrento for a few days.
    Conosco qualche ragazza francese. 
I know some French girls.
    alcuni/e + plural noun

    alcuni/e agrees with the noun.

     

    		 
    Alcuni amici giocano a pallavolo. 
Some friends play volleyball.
    Vado a Sorrento per alcuni giorni.
I am going to Sorrento for a few days.
    Conosco alcune ragazze francesi. 
I know some French girls.
    un po’ di 
    Ho bisogno di bere un po’ d’acqua. 
I need to drink some water.
    Prendo un caffè con un po’ di latte.
I’ll have a coffee with a bit of milk.
    di + definite article (il, lo, l’, la, i, gli, le) 
    Ho degli amici molto simpatici. 
I have some very nice friends.
    C’è del latte in frigorifero? 
Is there any milk in the fridge?

    NOTE:

    1. The partitive is not expressed in negative sentences, and it is also often omitted in interrogative sentences.
    Non ha amici.
He/she doesn’t have any friends.

Non hanno pane.
They don’t have any bread.

Ha amici? / Ha degli amici?
Does he/she have any bread? 

Hanno pane? / Hanno del pane?
Do they have any bread?
    1. As shown in the chart below, only un po’ di or di + definite article can be used with a singular noun referring to an abstraction or something measurable, which cannot be counted.
    Ho un po’ di tempo libero.
I have some free time.

Ho comprato della bella frutta al mercato.
I bought some beautiful fruit at the market.

Ha mangiato un po’ di tutto.
He/she ate a little bit of everything.

Ho conosciuto della gente interessante.
I met some interesting people.

     

    Summary table

      with:
    ABSTRACT NOUNS
    MEASURABLE QUANTITIES
    NON CONTABLE NOUNS         		with:
    COUNTABLE NOUNS
    (1, 2, 3 . . .)
    + SINGULAR UN PO’ DI coraggio
    tempo
    amicizia
    aglio
    zucchero
    gente    		 QUALCHE persona
    studente
    panino
    DI + article del coraggio
    dell’aglio
    della gente
    Ø(nothing) with negative sentences
    (and often with interrogative ones)
    + PLURAL These nouns ar not used in the plural. ALCUNI/E persone
    studenti
    panini
    DI+article>/strong> delle persone
    degli studenti
    dei panini
    Ø(nothing) with negative sentences
    (and often with interrogative ones)

     

     

    This page titled 3.12: Partitivi is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Cinzia Blum and Lucia Gemmani (Iowa State University Digital Press) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.