Troppo, Troppa, Troppi, Troppe. What’s the difference?

Troppo (adverb)

Troppo is invariable and thus does not change its ending when it acts as an adverb, which means that appears after a verb or before an adjective.

  • Troppo = too much

Troppo, Troppa, Troppi, Troppe (adjectives)

Troppi is variable and changes its ending to troppa, troppi, troppi when it precedes a noun (in this case, it functions as an adjective).

  • Troppo / Troppa = too 
  • Troppi / Troppe = too many

This chart will help you determine which form of ‘poco’ to use:

Troppo
(adverb)
too muchIeri sera ho mangiato troppo (I ate too much last night)
Luigi ha bevuto un po’ troppo  (Luigi drank a little too much)
Troppo, Troppa
(adjective)
tooFa troppo freddo oggi! (It’s too cold today!) 
Ho troppa fame! (I’m too hungry!)
Troppi, Troppe
(adjective)
too manyCi sono troppi studenti in questa classe (There are too many students in this class)Ci sono troppe persone in questa sala (There are too many people in this room)
troppo, troppa, troppi, troppe: how to use them 

Troppo as ‘So’ in Emphatic Sentences

In Italian, “troppo” is typically translated as “too much” or “too.” However, in everyday Italian speech, “troppo” is frequently used in a way similar to the English word “so” in emphatic sentences.

For example:

  • È troppo buono – While the literal translation might be “He is too good,” in a colloquial context, it could be interpreted as “It’s so good”.
  • È troppo bello – Literally, “It is too beautiful,” but often used to mean “It is so beautiful”.

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