Partitive Articles in Italian

The articulated forms of the Italian preposition di (del, dello, della, dei, degli, delle) can also be used as partitive articles. In this case they function to indicate a part or an undetermined quantity.

In the singular, the partitive article is equivalent to un po, alquanto (a bit, a little, a few):

Dammi dell'acqua.
Give me some water.

Compra del pane.
Buy a bit of bread.

È caduta della pioggia.
Some rain fell.

C'è dell'ironia nelle tue parole.
There is some irony in your words.

Looking at these examples, it is easy to see that the partitive article is used only with nomi massa, i.e., nouns that do not indicate a single thing, but a certain amount of something. In fact, In Italian you cannot say Ho letto del libro, but rather Ho letto un libro (I read a book). For the opposite reason, you cannot say Prestami un denaro; instead you have to say: Prestami del denaro (Lend me some money).

The use of the partitive article with abstract nouns is limited to particular expressions such as: avere dell'ingegno (to have a creative mind), del buon senso (common sense), dello spirito (of the spirit), del fegato (of the liver) (in the figurative sense of having pluck, daring, or courage). Normally, to attenuate the meaning of an abstract noun the appropriate adverbial expressions are used (Ho un po' di sonno, un certo sonno, abbastanza sonno; I'm a little sleepy).

Note the difference in meaning between: Vado a comprare del vino—I'm going to buy some wine (a certain amount of wine) and Vado a comprare dei vini—I'm going to buy some wine (different qualities, types of wine).

The difference is due to the fact that the "uncountable nouns," when used in the plural, undergo a change in meaning. The equivalent singular of Vado a comprare dei vini is Vado a comprare un vino (a Sicilian wine, a fine wine, a wine that someone has recommended to me, etc.).

In the plural, as noted, the partitive article replaces the non-existent plural of the indefinite article (articolo indeterminativo) and is equivalent to qualche (some) or alcuni, alcune (a few):

Sento dei rumori.
I hear some noises.

Abbiamo degli ospiti.
We have some guests.

Mi sono accaduti dei fatti strani.
Some strange things happened to me.

Degli uomini mi seguono.
Some men are following me.

In Sicilia ho scattato delle foto bellissime.
In Sicily I took some beautiful pictures.

The plural partitive article can be omitted when the noun to which it refers:

• occurs as a subject after the verb:

Sono rimasti soltanto cornetti alla crema.
Only a few croissants with cream remained.

Al calar del sole appariranno ombre sinistre.
At sunset sinister shadows will appear.

• or is a direct object (complemento oggetto):

Ascolta musica dalla mattina alla sera.
She listens to music all day long.

Ho prestato libri a mezzo mondo.
I lent books to half the world.

Ha commesso errori assai gravi.
He committed quite serious errors.

When the partitive article is inserted in an indirect object (complemento indiretto), and is therefore preceded by a preposition, it tends to take a different construct; so instead of saying:

Ho scritto a degli amici.
I wrote to friends.

the preferred expression is:

Ho scritto ad alcuni amici, or ho scritto ad amici.
I wrote to some friends, or I wrote to a few friends.

ARTICOLO PARTITIVO

	SINGOLARE	PLURALE
MASCHILE	del	dei
	dello, dell'	degli
FEMMINILE	della	delle