1. Partitives and expressions of quantity
—Ha fatto tanti chilometri.
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2. Partitives and expressions of quantity
Il partitivo
In English, words like some, a few, a little, any, and several express an indefinite amount or part of the whole. The Italian equivalent is conveyed by il partitivo and expressions of quantity such as del, un po’ di, qualche, and alcuni/e.
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3. Partitives and expressions of quantity
To form the partitive, combine di with the definite article: del, dello, della, dell’, dei, degli, delle.
Ho comprato della pasta al mercato. I bought some pasta at the market.
Avete preparato degli spaghetti? Gnam! Did you make spaghetti? Yum!
Metti dello zucchero sulla tavola. Put some sugar on the table.
Hanno invitato delle amiche alla festa. They invited some girlfriends to the party.
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4. Partitives and expressions of quantity
Use un po’ di (a little of, a bit of) with a singular noun that is abstract or that you can measure (but not count).
Marco mi ha dato un po’ di carne per il mio cagnolino.
Marco gave me a bit of meat for my little dog.
Quando avrò un po’ di tempo libero, ti telefonerò.
When I have a little free time, I’ll call you.
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5. Partitives and expressions of quantity
Use qualche with a singular noun, even though it expresses the plural meaning of some, a few, or several.
Ti ho preso qualche libro. Va bene?
I picked up several/ a few books for you. Is that all right?
Dove mangiamo stasera? Hai qualche idea?
Where shall we eat tonight? Do you have some ideas?
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6. Partitives and expressions of quantity
Alcuni and alcune are always followed by plural nouns and mean several or a few.
Alcune persone sono arrivate in ritardo alla festa.
Several people arrived late for the party.
Facciamo alcuni acquisti prima di tornare a Spello.
Let’s buy a few things before going back to Spello.
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7. Partitives and expressions of quantity
In negative sentences, the partitive is omitted. It may also be omitted in questions and when listing items.
I vegetariani non mangiano carne.
Vegetarians don’t eat meat.
Abbiamo bisogno di cipolle, funghi e pomodori per fare la pizza.
We need onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes to make the pizza.
Avete figli?
Do you have children?
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8. Partitives and expressions of quantity
Many expressions of quantity are followed by di. Others—such as molto, parecchio (several, a lot of ), poco, troppo, and tanto—are not. When used as adjectives, they must agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify.
un bicchiere di a glass of
una bottiglia di a bottle of
un chilo di a kilo of
un litro di a liter of
un pạio di a pair of
un pezzo di a piece of
un po’ di a little (of)
un sacco di a lot of/lots of
una scatola di a box of
una tazza di a cup of
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9. Partitives and expressions of quantity
Mi dia un chilo di uva, per favore.
Give me a kilo of grapes, please.
Quanto costa una bottiglia di vino rosso?
How much does a bottle of red wine cost?
Ho molta fame. Mangiamo!
I’m very hungry. Let’s eat!
Troppe persone non pensano all’ambiente.
Too many people don’t think about the environment.
Lei ha tante idee!
She has so many ideas!
Mio genero ha dato un pezzo di cioccolato al cane.
My son-in-law gave a piece of chocolate to the dog.
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10. Partitives and expressions of quantity
When molto, parecchio, poco, tanto, and other expressions of quantity are used as adverbs, always use the masculine, singular form.
Riccardo mangia sempre troppo.
Riccardo always eats too much.
I bambini litigano parecchio!
The kids fight a lot!
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11. Partitives and expressions of quantity
The numerical expressions un milione and un miliardo (and their multiples) are followed by di.
Te l’ho già detto un miliardo di volte!
I’ve already told you that a billion times!
Tre milioni di persone sono venute alla manifestazione.
Three million people came to the demonstration.
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12. Partitives and expressions of quantity
Note these conversions and equivalents for quantities.
Tabella conversioni - Unità di misura comuni
1 chilogrammo (kg) = 2,2 libbre
1 chilometro (km) = 0,6 miglia
1 etto = 0,22 libbre
1 metro (m) = 3,28 piedi
1 litro = 1,13 quarto di gallone
1 centimetro (cm) = 0,39 pollici (inches)
Numeri – Italia
Numeri – Stati Uniti
milione
million
miliardo
billion
bilione
trillion
biliardo
quatrillion
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13. Partitives and expressions of quantity
ATTENZIONE!
Don’t forget that the metric system is used in Italy. To buy about two pounds of pasta, for example, ask for un chilo di pasta. To buy a little over a pound of something, use un mezzo chilo di… If you want only a small amount, ask for un etto di… or due etti di…, 100 or 200 grams, respectively. For liquid measures, un litro is somewhat more than a quart.
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