You likely noticed that qualche and alcuni/e share a meaning – the difference is that the former is invariable and always modifies a singular noun, while the latter always accompanies a plural noun and must agree in gender with that noun.

If we go back to our recipe for tiramisù, here are some other options:

II tiramisù

• uova
  • delle uova
  • alcune uova
  • qualche uovo
• zucchero
  • dello zucchero
  • un po’ di zucchero
• caffè
  • del caffè
  • un po’ di caffè
• biscotti savoiardi
  • dei biscotti savoiardi
  • alcuni biscotti savoiardi
  • qualche biscotto savoiardo
• mascarpone
  • del mascarpone
  • un po’ di mascarpone
• cacao
  • del cacao
  • un po’ di cacao

Espressioni di quantità

There are other expressions of quantity that we use often in Italian (and which you have already encountered many times) like molto (very, many, much, a lot of), poco (little, few, not many, not much), tanto (a lot of, many, much), troppo (too many, too much).

When these expressions of quantity modify nouns, they agree in gender and number with those words:

Es. Bevo troppo caffè.

(I drink too much coffee.)

Es. Bevo poca acqua.

(I drink little water.)

Es. Ci sono molti ristoranti in centro.

(There are many restaurants downtown.)

Es. Mangio tante verdure ad ogni pasto. 

(I eat a lot of vegetables at every meal.)

There are also other specific measurements of quantity, some using the English system and some using the metric system. Most of them use di:

Struttura 4.4 Ci/Ne e i verbi idiomatici

At this point, you’ve dedicated quite a bit of study to pronouns – that is, those tiny little words that take the place of nouns that can sometimes be difficult and confusing and comical to pronounce. Well, there are two more small words that you have probably encountered but perhaps not studied explicitly: ci and ne. These two words tend to be studied together, even though they are technically two different parts of speech: ci is actually an adverb, and ne is a pronoun. Both can take the place of certain prepositional phrases, among other functions.

Ne

Let’s look first at the uses of ne.

1. Quantità

Quanti etti di prosciutto compri?

–Ne compro 2. 

(How many hectograms of prosciutto are you buying? I’m buying 2 [of them]).

Quante uova usi nella ricetta?

–Ne uso 3. 

(How many eggs are you using in the recipe? I’m using 3 [of them]).

As you can see in these examples, we use ne with expressions of quantity. It is the way we say “x number of it/them”. We do not need to repeat the noun we are substituting, and just like with other pronouns, we tend to place ne before the conjugated verb (all previous rules for placement apply here as well).

2. Partitivi e frasi con la preposizione di 

Prendi del pane prima di tornare a casa?

-Certo che ne prendo. 

(Will you pick up some bread before you come home? Certainly, I’ll pick some up.)

This example represents a quantity, like those above, but it also shows another key use of ne: to replace the partitive with di.

In fact, ne is used to replace any combination of the preposition di + a noun or infinitive, even if it does not represent quantity.

Es. Ho voglia di prendere un gelato.

–Ne ho voglia.

(I feel like an ice cream. → I feel like it)

Es. Parliamo del menù più tardi.

–Ne parliamo più tardi.

(We’ll talk about the menu later. → We’ll talk about it later)

If ne is combined with other pronouns, it comes second:

Es. Ti serve del sale?

-No, non me ne serve.

(Do you need some salt? No, I don’t need it)

Ci

You have already seen ci in a lot of different capacities: as a reflexive, reciprocal, direct and indirect object pronoun. But that’s not all!

1. Luogo

Remember when you learned the expressions c’è and ci sono (there is, there are)? Well, the ci in that case means “there” and functions as an adverb. In general, because it can refer to a place, it can replace phrases that begin with the prepositions a, in, su and da.

Es. Vai in biblioteca per studiare?

–Ci vado.

(Do you go to the library to study? Yes, I go there.)

Es. Sei mai andato in Italia?

-Non ci sono ancora andato.

(Have you ever been to Italy? I haven’t been there yet.)

Hai lasciato il libro sulla scrivania?

-Sì, ci ho lasciato il libro.

(Did you leave the book on the desk? Yes, I left the book there.)

Sei passata da Diana ieri sera?

-Non ho avuto tempo per passarci.

(Did you pass by Diana’s last night? I didn’t have time to pass by there.)

I verbi idiomatici

In English, there are a lot of idiomatic expressions, or expressions that have a figurative, rather than a literal, meaning. If you say: “Wow, ci and ne in Italian are a piece of cake”, then you are using an idiomatic expression because obviously these two grammatical elements are not actually cake. In Italian, there are also certain verbs that have idiomatic meanings, and these verbs often include ci or ne in their infinitive forms. A little particular, but also fun and useful phrases to learn!

Es. ‘Ci’ e ‘ne’ sono difficili, ma gli studenti se la cavano.

(‘Ci’ and ‘ne’ are difficult, but the students are managing.)

Es. Quando finisco l’università, me ne vado da Massachusetts.

(When I finish college, I’m getting out of Massachusetts.)

Es. Martina ha un appuntamento e non ce la fa a venire alla nostra festa.

(Martina has a date and can’t make it to our party.)

As you can see in these examples, the verb conjugations have “built in” double pronouns–some reflexive verbs that add ne or the direct object pronoun la, and some that use ci in a similar way. Here are the infinitive forms of the verbs in the examples above: