Indefinite pronouns (few, some, many, ...) in Italian
Sign up for free to get all information about private lessons and our available group courses (A1, A2, B2, B2, C1, C2)
Sign up for freeSign up for free to get all information about private lessons and our available group courses (A1, A2, B2, B2, C1, C2)
Sign up for freeIndefinite pronouns (pronomi indefiniti) indicate elements in a non-specific way.
Sing. Masculine | Sing. Feminine | Plur. Masculine | Plur. Feminine | English |
---|---|---|---|---|
Uno | Una | / | / | One |
Alcuno | Alcuna | Alcuni | Alcune | Some/none |
Ciascuno | Ciascuna | / | / | Each/Each one |
Qualcosa | / | / | / | Something/anything |
Qualcuno | Qualcuna | Qualcuni | Qualcune | Some/Somebody |
/ | / | Entrambi | Entrambe | Both |
Tutto | Tutta | Tutti | Tutte | Everything |
Ognuno | Ognuna | / | / | Each one |
Chiunque | / | / | / | Anybody/whoever |
Poco | Poca | Pochi | Poche | Few/little |
Tanto | Tanta | Tanti | Tante | Much/Many |
Troppo | Troppa | Troppi | Troppe | Too much/too many |
Molto | Molta | Molti | Molte | Much/many/a lot |
Parecchio | Parecchia | Parecchi | Parecchie | Quite/rather a lot, plenty |
Nessuno | Nessuna | / | / | No one/none/nothing |
Niente/Nulla | / | / | / | Nothing |
Take online language lessons with a professional teacher
Demonstrative pronoun | Translation |
---|---|
Uno/una | One |
Ognuno/Ognuna/Tutti | Everybody |
Ciascuno | Each one |
Ognuno | Each one |
Nessuno | Nobody |
Qualcuno | Somebody |
Chiunque | Anybody |
Uno, una, ognuno, ognuna, ciascuno, ciascuna, qualcuno, qualcuna, nessuno, nessuna have a feminine and masculine variation.
Tutti (plural masculine) has all forms of declension, singular/plural, masculine/feminine.
Chiunque is invariable.
Take a look at the following sentences.
Italian | English |
---|---|
Quando il professore distribuiva i fogli non sapeva di doverne dare due a ciascuno. | When the professor was handing out the papers, he didn't know that he had to give two to each student. |
È un segreto che sai solo tu quindi sei pregato di non dirlo a nessun altro. | It is a secret that only you know, so please don't tell anyone. |
Questa penna deve essere di qualcuno. | This pen must be of somebody. |
Uno, nessuno and qualcuno lose the last vowel in front of the word Altro (another/else).
Example: Nessun altro mi ha chiamato. (Nobody else called me)
Italian | English |
---|---|
Qualcosa | Something |
Niente/nulla | Nothing |
Let's analize the following sentences.
Italian | English |
---|---|
Quella scatola può contenere anche qualcosa di bello. | That box can also contain something beautiful. |
Io non so nulla su questo argomento. | I don't know anything about this topic. |
Qualunque sia la tua scelta finale, io non voglio saperne niente. | Whatever will be your final choice, I don't want to know anything about it. |
Qualcosa and nulla lose their vowel if followed by the word Altro (Another/else).
Example: Raccontami qualcos'altro. (Tell me something else.)
Italian | English |
---|---|
Alcuno Alcuna | None |
Alcuni Alcune | Some |
Poco | A little/a few |
Tanto | Many, much |
Molto | A lot, much |
Troppo | Too many/too much |
Parecchio | A lot |
Poco, Tanto, Molto, Troppo, Parecchio have all forms of declension, singular/plural, masculine/feminine.
Be careful not to confuse Alcuno, Alcuna in the singular form, that translate as none, with Alcuni, Alcune in plural that translate as some.
Take a look at the following sentences.
Italian | English |
---|---|
Non avere troppa fretta, ormai manca poco. | Don't be in such an hurry, it's almost time. |
Mi piace il cioccolato, ma penso di averne mangiato troppo. | I like chocolate, but I think I had way too much. |
Mio padre colleziona francobolli, ma ancora non ne ha molti. | My dad collects postmarks, but he doesn't have many of them yet. |
The expression tanto quanto means as much as.
Example: Voglio bene a mio padre tanto quanto ne voglio a mia madre. (I love my father as much as I love my mother.)
Tanto and molto have almost the same meaning. They are mostly used in the same contexts but we can't use molto instead of tanto when expressing a consequence.
Example: There were so many that I couldn't make a decision.
Tutto and its forms can be also followed by numbers, separated by the conjunction e.
In this case, it indicates the total amount of things or people as a whole.
Italian | English |
---|---|
Non sapevo in quale negozio entrare, così sono passata da tutti. | I didn't know which shop to enter, so I passed by them all. |
Tutti e tre i miei fratelli abitano a Milano. | All of my 3 brothers live in Milan. |
Tutti i bambini sono usciti dalla classe. | All the children got out of the classroom. |
Nessuno (nobody) and niente/nulla (nothing) belong to the group of negative indefinite pronouns, and have different usages compared to English
They could, indeed, appear both in affirmative and negative constructions.
If these pronouns follow the verb, they are accompanied by the negation non (not), placed before the verb.
Italian | English |
---|---|
Mia mamma mi ha detto che in forno non c'è niente adesso. | My mom told me that there is nothing in the oven right now. |
Nessuno mi piace. | I don't like anybody. |
Non è nulla di che. | It's nothing serious. |