{"id":449,"date":"2010-08-04T12:51:08","date_gmt":"2010-08-04T12:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=449"},"modified":"2015-12-15T10:35:14","modified_gmt":"2015-12-15T09:35:14","slug":"qualche-alcuni-o-dei","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/qualche-alcuni-o-dei\/","title":{"rendered":"Qualche, alcuni o dei?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When talking about unspecified quantities we can use several forms. The most common indefinite adjective is qualche<\/strong>, which means ‘some’, ‘any’, or ‘a few’. The problem with qualche<\/strong> is that it is invariable<\/u>, and always singular<\/u>, but expresses the idea of plurality. Let’s look at the way we use it:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"ALBERO\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ho comprato qualche pianta<\/u> al mercato
\n<\/strong>I bought some <\/u>plants<\/u> on the market<\/span><\/p>\n

Qualche albero \u00e8 caduto<\/u> a causa del forte vento
\n<\/strong>Some trees have fallen<\/u> because of the strong wind<\/span><\/p>\n

Qualche giorno<\/u> fa siamo andati al mare
\n<\/strong>A few days<\/u> ago we went to the sea<\/span><\/p>\n

Conosci qualche buon ristorante<\/u> qui vicino?
\n<\/strong>Do you know any good restaurants<\/u> near here?<\/span><\/p>\n

As you can see from the examples above, qualche<\/strong> is always followed by a singular noun, and, where appropriate, a singular verb.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another common way to express an unspecified quantity is the indefinite adjective alcuni \/ alcune<\/strong>, which is only used in the plural form, and has both the masculine (alcuni<\/strong>) and the feminine (alcune<\/strong>) forms. Here are some examples of how to use them:<\/span><\/p>\n

Ho comprato alcune piante<\/u> al mercato
\n<\/strong>I bought some plants<\/u> on the market<\/span><\/p>\n

Alcuni alberi sono caduti <\/u>a causa del<\/strong> forte vento
\n<\/strong>Some trees have fallen<\/u> because of the strong wind<\/span><\/p>\n

Alcuni giorni fa siamo andati al mare
\n<\/strong>A few days<\/u> ago we went to the sea<\/span><\/p>\n

Alcune persone preferiscono<\/u> il mare alla montagna
\n<\/strong>Some people prefer<\/u> the sea to the mountain<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Serena<\/a><\/p>\n

In this case alcuni \/ alcune<\/strong> are followed by a plural noun, and, where appropriate, a plural verb.<\/span><\/p>\n

N.B. alcun \/ alcuno \/ alcuna<\/strong> (which are the singular forms of alcuni \/ alcune<\/strong>) are only<\/u> used in negative sentences, e.g. Non<\/u> conosco alcun<\/u> buon ristorante qui vicino<\/strong> (I don’t <\/u>know any<\/u> good restaurants near here), or non<\/u> ho comprato alcuna<\/u> pianta al mercato <\/strong>(I didn’t<\/u> buy any<\/u> plants on the market). It should be noted however, that in colloquial Italian nessun \/ nessuno \/ nessuna <\/strong>(lit. nobody or nothing) is used far more commonly, e.g. Non conosco nessun buon ristorante qui vicino<\/strong> (I don’t know any good restaurants near here).<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, to express an indefinite quantity we commonly use the partitive adjective which is formed by combining the preposition di <\/strong>with the definite articles il, lo, la, l’, i, gli, le<\/strong>, hence: del, dello, della, dell’, dei, degli, delle<\/strong>. Let’s look at some examples:<\/span><\/p>\n

Ho comprato delle piante<\/u> al mercato
\n<\/strong>I bought some plants<\/u> on the market<\/span><\/p>\n

Degli alberi sono caduti<\/u> a causa del forte vento
\n<\/strong>Some trees have fallen<\/u> because of the strong wind<\/span><\/p>\n

Conosci dei buoni ristoranti<\/u> qui vicino?
\n<\/strong>Do you know any good restaurants<\/u> near here?<\/span><\/p>\n

Note that the singular form del, dello, della, dell’<\/strong> is either used with uncountable nouns (i.e. nouns that are not normally pluralized) such as zucchero<\/strong> (sugar), acqua<\/strong> (water), caff\u00e8 <\/strong>(coffee), etc, or with the meaning of un po’ di <\/strong>(a bit of):<\/span><\/p>\n

Vuoi del caff\u00e8?
\n<\/strong>Would you like some coffee?<\/span><\/p>\n

Posso avere dello zucchero?
\n<\/strong>May I have some sugar<\/span><\/p>\n

Devo comprare del formaggio
\n<\/strong>I must buy a bit of cheese<\/span><\/p>\n

N.B. When asking questions we either use qualche<\/strong> or del, dei<\/strong>, etc., and not<\/u> alcuni \/ e<\/strong>, e.g.: Conosci qualche buon ristorante? <\/strong>or Conosci dei buoni ristoranti? <\/strong>(Do you know any good restaurants?)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

When talking about unspecified quantities we can use several forms. The most common indefinite adjective is qualche, which means ‘some’, ‘any’, or ‘a few’. The problem with qualche is that it is invariable, and always singular, but expresses the idea of plurality. Let’s look at the way we use it: Ho comprato qualche pianta al…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":10595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[10450],"class_list":["post-449","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grammar","tag-qualche-alcuni-dei"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t