Partitive Articles in Italian

In Brief

Italian partitive articles express an unspecified amount or number, often corresponding to English some or any: del pane (“some bread”), delle mele (“some apples”). They are formed from di + the definite article, and their form agrees with the noun: del, dello, della, dell', dei, degli, delle.

Overview

A partitive article lets you mention a quantity without saying exactly how much or how many. Compare un chilo di pane (“a kilo of bread”), which gives a quantity, with del pane (“some bread”), which does not. It can be used with an uncountable or mass noun (something normally measured rather than counted), such as pane, acqua, or pazienza, and with plural countable nouns such as libri and domande.

This is an A2 topic, but its building blocks are familiar from articulated prepositions. Forms such as del and della are contractions of di and a definite article. The same written form can therefore have two jobs: del pane may mean “some bread,” while il prezzo del pane means “the price of the bread.” Context and sentence structure reveal whether the meaning is partitive or literally “of the.”

English sometimes uses some, but it also uses no article at all: “I bought bread” and “We need chairs.” Italian may use a partitive article in both situations: Ho comprato del pane and Ci servono delle sedie. This makes direct word-for-word translation unreliable.

How It Works

Forming the articles

The partitive article combines di with the definite article that the noun would normally take. Choose the form by the noun’s gender (masculine or feminine), number (singular or plural), and initial sound.

Combination	Partitive article	Used before	Example
di + il	del	most masculine singular nouns	del pane
di + lo	dello	masculine singular nouns beginning with s + consonant, z, gn, ps, x, or y	dello zucchero
di + la	della	feminine singular nouns beginning with a consonant	della frutta
di + l'	dell'	singular nouns beginning with a vowel	dell'acqua, dell'olio
di + i	dei	most masculine plural nouns	dei libri
di + gli	degli	masculine plural nouns beginning with a vowel or taking singular lo	degli amici, degli studenti
di + le	delle	all feminine plural nouns	delle mele

The choice follows the definite article, not the English translation. If you would say lo zucchero, use dello zucchero; if you would say gli studenti, use degli studenti.

Singular: an unspecified amount

The singular forms normally occur with mass nouns. They refer to part of a substance, food, activity, or abstract quality rather than to one countable item:

• Vorrei del pane. — “I’d like some bread.”
• Beviamo dell'acqua. — “Let’s drink some water.”
• Ci vuole della pazienza. — “It takes some patience.”
• Hanno fatto dello sport. — “They did some sport/exercise.”

A singular partitive does not mean “one.” Del biscotto means some of a biscuit or an amount of biscuit, not “a biscuit”; for one whole biscuit, say un biscotto.

Plural: an unspecified number

Italian has ordinary singular indefinite articles—un, uno, una, un'—but no separate plural forms of them. The plural partitive often fills that gap:

Singular	Unspecified plural
un libro — a book	dei libri — some books
uno studente — a student	degli studenti — some students
un'amica — a friend	delle amiche — some friends
una domanda — a question	delle domande — some questions

The plural noun itself must also be correct: una mela → delle mele, not delle mela.

Statements, questions, and negatives

Partitives are common in affirmative statements and requests:

• Ho comprato della frutta. — “I bought some fruit.”
• Vorrei del formaggio. — “I’d like some cheese.”

They can also appear in questions where English may use any:

• Hai delle domande? — “Do you have any questions?”
• C'è del latte? — “Is there any milk?”

In negative sentences, Italian often omits the article when the meaning is a complete absence: Non ho domande (“I have no questions”) and Non c'è latte (“There is no milk”). A partitive after non is possible in suitable contexts, but beginners should not mechanically translate every English any with del/della/dei....

Do not use it after another quantity expression

A quantity word or measure usually governs the noun with di, not with a partitive article:

Meaning	Correct pattern	Not
a little bread	un po' di pane	un po' del pane
a lot of patience	molta pazienza	molta della pazienza
three bottles of water	tre bottiglie d'acqua	tre bottiglie dell'acqua
some friends / several friends	alcuni amici	alcuni degli amici

The forms with del/dell'/degli can be grammatical when they have the definite meaning “of the”: un po' del pane che hai comprato means “a little of the bread you bought,” and alcuni degli amici di Luca means “some of Luca’s friends.” That is a different, specific meaning.

Examples in Context

Italian	English	Note
Vorrei del pane.	I’d like some bread.	Masculine singular mass noun
Ho comprato della frutta.	I bought some fruit.	Feminine singular mass noun
Aggiungi dello zucchero.	Add some sugar.	Zucchero takes lo, so the partitive is dello
Bevi dell'acqua prima di uscire.	Drink some water before going out.	Singular before a vowel
Per la ricetta serve dell'olio.	The recipe calls for some oil.	Masculine singular before a vowel
Abbiamo visto dei film italiani.	We watched some Italian films.	Masculine plural
Ci sono degli studenti qui.	There are some students here.	Masculine plural with s + consonant
Sono arrivati degli ospiti.	Some guests have arrived.	Masculine plural before a vowel
Ho comprato delle mele.	I bought some apples.	Feminine plural
Hai delle domande?	Do you have any questions?	English uses “any” in this question
C'è del latte in frigo?	Is there any milk in the fridge?	Unspecified amount in a question
Ci vuole della pazienza.	It takes some patience.	Abstract mass noun
I bambini fanno spesso del rumore.	Children often make some noise.	Fixed, natural use with fare
Stasera invitiamo degli amici a cena.	We’re inviting some friends to dinner tonight.	Unspecified people, not a known group
Non ci sono sedie libere.	There aren’t any free chairs.	The article is commonly omitted after negation

Common Mistakes

Choosing the form from gender alone

• Wrong: del zucchero
• Right: dello zucchero
• Why: Masculine nouns do not all take del. Since the definite form is lo zucchero, the matching partitive is dello zucchero.

Forgetting the apostrophe before a vowel

• Wrong: della acqua
• Right: dell'acqua
• Why: Singular dello and della become dell' before a vowel. The apostrophe shows that a vowel has been dropped.

Using a singular noun after a plural partitive

• Wrong: Ho comprato delle mela.
• Right: Ho comprato delle mele.
• Why: The article and noun must agree in number and gender. Delle is feminine plural, so the noun must also be plural.

Adding a partitive after a measure

• Wrong: Vorrei un chilo del pane.
• Right: Vorrei un chilo di pane.
• Why: A measure followed by a nonspecific noun uses plain di. Un chilo del pane would refer to one kilo of a particular, already identified supply of bread.

Translating every English “any” literally

• Awkward in a neutral negative: Non ho delle domande.
• Natural: Non ho domande.
• Why: Italian commonly uses a bare noun (a noun with no article) to express complete absence after negation. Partitives work well in many questions, but are not an automatic equivalent of English any.

Confusing “some” with “some of the”

• Different: Ho invitato degli studenti. — “I invited some students.”
• Different: Ho invitato alcuni degli studenti. — “I invited some of the students.”
• Why: The first introduces an unspecified group. The second selects members from a known group, so degli has its literal di + gli meaning, “of the.”

Usage Notes

Partitive articles are frequent and neutral, especially with food, drink, shopping, requests, and unspecified plural people or objects. In a café or shop, Vorrei del pane and Prendo delle olive sound natural because the exact amount is not the focus.

Italian also allows a bare plural noun in many contexts: both Cerco dei libri usati and Cerco libri usati can mean “I’m looking for used books.” The version with the partitive more clearly presents an unspecified set of items; the bare plural can sound broader or classify the kind of thing being sought. Actual preference varies with context, style, and region, so do not force a partitive into every possible sentence.

Compare the partitive with other ways of being indefinite:

Form	Typical meaning	Example
partitive article	some, unspecified amount or number	Cerco dei bicchieri.
alcuni/alcune	some, several; countable plural	Cerco alcuni bicchieri.
qualche + singular noun	some, a few	Cerco qualche bicchiere.
bare noun	indefinite/general, depending on context	Cerco bicchieri resistenti.

Qualche is followed by a grammatically singular noun even when it refers to more than one: qualche domanda, not qualche domande. Alcuni/alcune, by contrast, agrees with a plural noun.

Beyond the Basics

You do not need to master every distinction at A2, but the following contrasts explain forms you will meet later.

Partitive or articulated preposition?

The forms are identical, so test the meaning:

• Mangio del formaggio. — “I’m eating some cheese.” Here del marks an unspecified amount.
• Il sapore del formaggio è intenso. — “The flavor of the cheese is strong.” Here del means di + il, “of the.”
• Parlo degli studenti nuovi. — “I’m talking about the new students.” The verb phrase parlare di requires di, so degli means “about the.”

If some makes sense and no preceding word requires di, the use is likely partitive. If of the, about the, or another di-based relationship makes sense, it is an articulated preposition.

A whole class versus an unspecified portion

The definite article can describe a whole category, while the partitive presents an amount or subset:

• Il vino contiene alcol. — “Wine contains alcohol.” This is a general statement about wine.
• Ho bevuto del vino. — “I drank some wine.” This refers to an unspecified amount on one occasion.
• Gli studenti usano spesso il dizionario. — “Students often use the dictionary.” The class is discussed generally.
• Degli studenti aspettano fuori. — “Some students are waiting outside.” Only an unspecified group is meant.

Omission as a stylistic choice

In recipes, lists, headlines, and compact descriptions, Italian often omits articles: Aggiungere acqua e sale (“Add water and salt”). This does not make the full form wrong: Aggiungi dell'acqua e del sale is natural in an ordinary instruction. Advanced control means learning which option fits the text type, not simply replacing every bare noun with a partitive.

Practice Tips

1. Work from the definite article. Make pairs such as il pane → del pane, lo zucchero → dello zucchero, gli amici → degli amici. This is more reliable than memorizing seven isolated forms.
2. Sort real-life nouns into two groups. Use singular mass nouns for shopping or cooking (dell'olio, del riso, della farina) and plural countable nouns for people and objects (degli amici, dei piatti, delle bottiglie).
3. Practice three-way contrasts. Say one sentence with an unspecified amount, one with an exact measure, and one with a specific item: Compro del pane; compro un chilo di pane; compro il pane per la cena.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Articulated Prepositions — explains how di combines with il, lo, la, l', i, gli, and le to create the same forms used as partitive articles.