What is a partitive article?
Partitive articles are an essential part of the Italian language and the easiest way to translate “some” in English.
Unlike in English, they change their shape depending on the noun they precede because they are a combination of “di” plus the definite article that the noun would use.
They are used to indicate a part or some amount of an unspecified quantity of something.
Forms of Partitive Articles
We distinguish between singular and plural partitive articles.
Singular Partitive Articles (del, della, dello, dell’)
- del pane – some bread
- della farina – some flour
- dello zucchero – some sugar
- dell’olio d’oliva – some olive oil
Un po’ di
All of the above partitive articles can be replaced by “un po’ di”:
- un po’ di pane – some bread
- un po’ di farina – some flour
- un po’ di zucchero – some sugar
- un po’ di olio d’oliva – some olive oil
Plural Partitive Articles (dei, degli, delle)
- dei pomodori – some tomatoes
- degli spinaci – some spinach*
- delle fragole – some strawberries
*Note: “spinaci” is a plural noun in Italian, unlike in English.
Alcuni/alcune
The plural partitive articles can be replaced by “alcuni” (for masculine plural nouns) or “alcune” for feminine plural nouns. Although these are not as common or natural as the first one:
- alcuni pomodori – some tomatoes
- alcune fragole – some strawberries
- alcune spinaci – some spinach
Choosing the right partitive article
How do you choose the right partitive articles to use?
It’s simple. Look at this table. Understanding which definite articles the following noun uses is key.
DI is combined with the definite articles to form the partitive articles shown in the table.
| + | il | la | l’ | lo | i | gli | le |
| DI | del | della | dell’ | dello | dei | degli | delle |
| Definite Articles | Partitive Articles |
|---|---|
| il latte | del latte |
| la pizza | della pizza |
| l‘aceto | dell’aceto |
| lo zucchero | dello zucchero |
| i ragazzi | dei ragazzi |
| gli amici | degli amici |
| le amiche | delle amiche |
