Last week we looked at the differences between how we use molto and tanto when we want to say ‘many’, ‘a lots of’, ‘very much’, and so on. Today we are going to look at several colloquial expressions that are commonly used to express this same concept of quantity.

Un sacco = literally: a sack

c’era un sacco di roba da mangiare = there was a lot/loads of stuff to eat

Luciano ha ricevuto un sacco di telefonate di auguri per il suo compleanno = Luciano has had a lots/loads of phone calls wishing him happy birthday

abbiamo camminato un sacco al fine settimana = we walked a lot/loads at the week end

mi piace un sacco questo gelato al pistacchio = I really like this pistachio ice cream a lot

N.B. This expression was very popular in the Eighties due to the influence of a film by the comedian Carlo Verdone, who spoke an exaggerated romanesco (Roman dialect). The title of the film was “Un sacco bello” (a very uneducated way of saying ‘really great’)

Un mucchio = literally: a heap

c’è un mucchio di mele sull’albero = there are a a lot/loads of apples on the tree

Mariolino ha fatto un mucchio di storie perché non voleva andare a letto = little Mario made a a lot/loads of fuss because he didn’t want to go to bed

ho speso un mucchio per il nuovo schermo al plasma = I spent a a lot/loads of money on the new plasma screen

Un casino = literally: a chaos. This is a bit more vulgar and is very commonly used by youngsters/teenagers:

c’era un casino di gente al concerto = there were loads of people at the concert

sono successe un casino di cose mentre tu non c’eri = loads of things have happened while you weren’t here

ci siamo divertiti un casino = we enjoyed ourselves very much

The followings are pretty common but are only used in as few common expressions:

Una marea = literally: a tide:

c’era una marea di gente alla festa = there were loads of people at the party

stamattina ho una marea di panni da lavare = this morning I have loads of washing to do

Una barca = literally: a boat:

ho speso una barca di soldi = I spent loads of money

When we want to express the superlative in a more ‘colourful’ way, we use the following expressions instead of the more grammatically correct ending in –issimo:

troppo = too much, too many, this is used as an adverb, therefore it doesn’t change endings:

questa torta è troppo buona = this cake is really good!

questi fiori sono troppo belli = these flowers are really beautiful!

davvero = really, as with troppo, davvero is used as an adverb, therefore it doesn’t change endings:

questa torta è davvero buona = this cake is really good!

ci siamo davvero divertiti = we really enjoyed ourselves!

 Another common form of emphasising something is by using repetition (click on the link to read a previous blog about repetition):

questo pecorino è piccante piccante = this pecorino cheese is very hot (lit. hot hot)

dammi una fettina piccola piccola di quella torta = give me a tiny tiny little slice of that cake

Finally, one of Geoff’s favourite words which he’s learned from my mother: un tantinino:

La vuoi una fetta di torta? Sì, dammene un tantinino così! Do you want a slice of cake? Yes, give me a tiny little bit like this (indicating size with fingers).