Il partitivo con “di”
Expressing the partitive with “di”
There are several ways to say some (or any, if in a question) in Italian. You already know these two, which may only be used with nouns that can be easily counted (countables):
qualche [some; any] takes a singular noun in Italian
Ci vuole qualche limone per questa torta.
Ci vuole qualche patata per questo piatto.
alcuni / alcune [some; any] takes a plural noun in Italian
Ci vogliono alcuni limoni per questa torta.
Ci vogliono alcune patate per questo piatto.
The following structure is used when followed by any noun, whether it is something you can easily count (countable) or not easily count (uncountable). As in English, countables take the plural form (some berries), while uncountables remain singular (some coffee):
Preposition di + definite article [some; any]
Ci vuole del pane per la cena.
Ci vuole dello zucchero per la crostata.
Ci vuole della cannella per la crostata.
Ci vuole dell’acqua per la cena.
Ci vogliono dei mirtilli per la crostata.
Ci vogliono degli zucchini per la cena.
Ci vogliono delle mele per la crostata.
Nota bene:
- You could also say un po’ di [a bit of] for a slightly different nuance, as in Vorrei un po’ di zucchero.
- For grocery shopping, especially fruits and vegetables, di + article is the preferred and most often chosen option.
- In Italian you may not use the partitive in a negative sentence, as in non bevo latte and non compro fragole.
Lastly, notice the following cases:
- How can you say I drink some milk? Bevo del latte is the only option, as latte is considered uncountable. However, if you are drinking glasses of milk, then you can technically count the glasses, and say, for example bevo qualche bicchiere di latte and bevo alcuni bicchieri di latte.
- How can you say I’m going to buy some bottles of wine? > Compro delle bottiglie di vino, compro alcune bottiglie di vino & compro qualche bottiglia di vino.
