In Italian, partitive articles indicate an indeterminate part of a larger whole, and are comprised of:
This is similar to…
Much like in English…
The singular form indicates part of a whole. eg. some milk, some sugar
Forms: del/ della/ dello/ un po’ di
del pane / un po’ di pane (some/a little bread)
dello zucchero / un po’ di zucchero (some/a little sugar)
della carne / un po’ di carne (some/a little meat)
The plural form indicates a certain number of with respect to many eg. some horses, a few books
Forms: dei/ degli/ delle/ alcuni/ alcune / qualche
dei libri / alcuni libri / qualche libro* (some books)
delle mele / alcune mele/ qualche mela* (some apples)
DI + the definite article
The preposition DI (of/by) + the definite article can be used for both singular and plural nouns; it is formed by combining ‘di’ with the definite article as shown in the table below:
- The preposition DI + the Definite Article (il/lo/l’/la/i/gli/le)
This is similar to…
- Un po’ di
- Alcuni/Alcune
- Qualche
Much like in English…
The singular form indicates part of a whole. eg. some milk, some sugar
Forms: del/ della/ dello/ un po’ di
del pane / un po’ di pane (some/a little bread)
dello zucchero / un po’ di zucchero (some/a little sugar)
della carne / un po’ di carne (some/a little meat)
The plural form indicates a certain number of with respect to many eg. some horses, a few books
Forms: dei/ degli/ delle/ alcuni/ alcune / qualche
dei libri / alcuni libri / qualche libro* (some books)
delle mele / alcune mele/ qualche mela* (some apples)
DI + the definite article
The preposition DI (of/by) + the definite article can be used for both singular and plural nouns; it is formed by combining ‘di’ with the definite article as shown in the table below:
|
MASCULINE
|
FEMININE
|
|
definite article
DI + article
|
IL
DEL
|
L'
DELL'
|
LO
DELLO
|
I
DEI
|
GLI
DEGLI
|
LA
DELLA
|
L'
DELL'
|
LE
DELLE
|
These forms precede nouns that take the article used to create the form.
For example:
il latte (the milk) >> del latte (some milk)
**latte is masculine singular and begins with a “plain” consonant, so it takes il
la pasta (the pasta) >> della pasta (some pasta)
**pasta is feminine singular and begins with a consonant, so it takes la
i libri (the books) >> dei libri (some books)
**libri is masculine plural and begins with a "plain" consonant, so it takes i
Do you see the pattern now?
Un po’ di
Un po’ di means “a bit of”/ “a little”; it is used with singular collective nouns only.
*po’ is the truncated version of poco; in writing, the apostrophe must be used.
For example:
Un po’ di pasta (a little pasta/a bit of pasta)
Un po’ di latte (a little milk/a bit of milk)
Un po’ di zucchero (a little sugar/a bit of sugar)
Un po’ d’acqua (a little water/a bit of water) note: “di acqua” is not used in spoken Italian to retain fluidity.
Alcuni/Alcune
Alcuni and alcune are used with plural nouns only.
Alcuni is used with masculine plural nouns.
Alcune is used with feminine plural nouns.
For example:
alcuni libri (some books)
alcune studentesse (some students [f.])
alcuni stivali (some boots)
alcune api (some bees)
Qualche*
Qualche is a bit unusual, compared to the previous partitives. It is invariable (it never changes), and it is used with singular nouns only. Despite being used with singular nouns, the meaning remains ‘some’ or 'a few', so we make adjustments in translating to English.
Qualche is not interchangeable with “un po’ di”.
For example:
qualche libro (some/a few books)
qualche studente (some/a few students)
qualche minuto (some minutes)
qualche volta (sometimes)
***The di + the article and alcuni/alcune forms are also how we form a plural for the indefinite articles (a/an)
For example:
un albero (a tree) >> degli alberi / alcuni alberi (some trees)
una penna (a pen) >> delle penne / alcune penne (some pens)
un libro (a book) >> dei libri / alcuni libri (some books)
uno spazzolino (a toothbrush) >> degli spazzolini / alcuni spazzolini (some toothbrushes)
Pratica!
For example:
il latte (the milk) >> del latte (some milk)
**latte is masculine singular and begins with a “plain” consonant, so it takes il
la pasta (the pasta) >> della pasta (some pasta)
**pasta is feminine singular and begins with a consonant, so it takes la
i libri (the books) >> dei libri (some books)
**libri is masculine plural and begins with a "plain" consonant, so it takes i
Do you see the pattern now?
Un po’ di
Un po’ di means “a bit of”/ “a little”; it is used with singular collective nouns only.
*po’ is the truncated version of poco; in writing, the apostrophe must be used.
For example:
Un po’ di pasta (a little pasta/a bit of pasta)
Un po’ di latte (a little milk/a bit of milk)
Un po’ di zucchero (a little sugar/a bit of sugar)
Un po’ d’acqua (a little water/a bit of water) note: “di acqua” is not used in spoken Italian to retain fluidity.
Alcuni/Alcune
Alcuni and alcune are used with plural nouns only.
Alcuni is used with masculine plural nouns.
Alcune is used with feminine plural nouns.
For example:
alcuni libri (some books)
alcune studentesse (some students [f.])
alcuni stivali (some boots)
alcune api (some bees)
Qualche*
Qualche is a bit unusual, compared to the previous partitives. It is invariable (it never changes), and it is used with singular nouns only. Despite being used with singular nouns, the meaning remains ‘some’ or 'a few', so we make adjustments in translating to English.
Qualche is not interchangeable with “un po’ di”.
For example:
qualche libro (some/a few books)
qualche studente (some/a few students)
qualche minuto (some minutes)
qualche volta (sometimes)
***The di + the article and alcuni/alcune forms are also how we form a plural for the indefinite articles (a/an)
For example:
un albero (a tree) >> degli alberi / alcuni alberi (some trees)
una penna (a pen) >> delle penne / alcune penne (some pens)
un libro (a book) >> dei libri / alcuni libri (some books)
uno spazzolino (a toothbrush) >> degli spazzolini / alcuni spazzolini (some toothbrushes)
Pratica!
