Learn when and how to use Italian partitive articles
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Marco: Hello, and welcome back to the ItalianPOD101.com , the fastest, easiest and most fun way to learn Italian! I'm joined in the studio by... |
| Consuelo: Hello everyone. Consuelo here. |
| Marco: In today's class, we will focus on "the partitive," il partitivo. |
| Consuelo: This conversation takes place at a restaurant. |
| Marco: It's between Melissa and Alessio. |
| Consuelo: In this conversation, they will be speaking informal Italian. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Melissa: Anche il menu è grandioso. E' tutto delizioso! |
| Alessio: Bene. Ancora un po' di vino? |
| Melissa: Sì, per favore. Ho veramente degli amici favolosi, proprio una festa inaspettata. |
| Alessio: Il compleanno è un giorno fatto per festeggiare con amici. |
| Melissa: Sì, con delle persone care e possibilmente con la persona che ami. |
| Alessio: Ehm, ehm. Giustissimo. Vuoi dell'arrosto? E' buonissimo. |
| Melissa: Che c'è Alessio, nervoso? |
| Alessio: Chi io? No, no. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Melissa: Anche il menu è grandioso. E' tutto delizioso! |
| Alessio: Bene. Ancora un po' di vino? |
| Melissa: Sì, per favore. Ho veramente degli amici favolosi, proprio una festa inaspettata. |
| Alessio: Il compleanno è un giorno fatto per festeggiare con amici. |
| Melissa: Sì, con delle persone care e possibilmente con la persona che ami. |
| Alessio: Ehm, ehm. Giustissimo. Vuoi dell'arrosto? E' buonissimo. |
| Melissa: Che c'è Alessio, nervoso? |
| Alessio: Chi io? No, no. |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Melissa: Anche il menu è grandioso. E' tutto delizioso! |
| Marco: Also, the menu is great. Everything's delicious. |
| Alessio: Bene. Ancora un po' di vino? |
| Marco: Good. Some more wine? |
| Melissa: Sì, per favore. Ho veramente degli amici favolosi, proprio una festa inaspettata. |
| Marco: Yes, please. I have some really fantastic friends and a very unexpected party. |
| Alessio: Il compleanno è un giorno fatto per festeggiare con amici. |
| Marco: A birthday is a day made to celebrate with friends. |
| Melissa: Sì, con delle persone care e possibilmente con la persona che ami. |
| Marco: Yes, with some nice people and possibly with the person you love. |
| Alessio: Ehm, ehm. Giustissimo. Vuoi dell'arrosto? E' buonissimo. |
| Marco: Ehm, ehm. Absolutely right. Do you want some roast? It's very good. |
| Melissa: Che c'è Alessio, nervoso? |
| Marco: What's up, Alessio, are you nervous? |
| Alessio: Chi io? No, no. |
| Marco: Who, me? No, no. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Marco: Oh they're eating "arrosto"...so good. |
| Consuelo: Yes, you can say that again. Anyway, Alessio used the "arrosto" as an excuse to change topics. |
| Marco: Oh, really? |
| Consuelo: Yes, because Melissa was talking about the person you love, and he obviously started to act shy… |
| Marco: That happens, and suggesting some "arrosto" is a very nice way out. |
| Consuelo: Ah, ah. Do you think so? Way out from what, embarrassing speeches? |
| Marco: Yes, it can be. |
| Consuelo: Okay, next time, please try method and let us know whether it works or not. |
| Marco: "Promesso," "promised!" |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Consuelo: grandioso [natural native speed] |
| Marco: great |
| Consuelo: grandioso [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: grandioso [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: delizioso [natural native speed] |
| Marco: delightful, delicious |
| Consuelo: delizioso [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: delizioso [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: favoloso [natural native speed] |
| Marco: fabulous, fantastic, wonderful |
| Consuelo: favoloso [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: favoloso [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: inaspettato [natural native speed] |
| Marco: unexpected, unforeseen, unpredicted |
| Consuelo: inaspettato [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: inaspettato [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: caro [natural native speed] |
| Marco: dear, beloved |
| Consuelo: caro [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: caro [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: possibilmente [natural native speed] |
| Marco: possibly, perhaps, if possible |
| Consuelo: possibilmente [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: possibilmente [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: arrosto [natural native speed] |
| Marco: roast |
| Consuelo: arrosto [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: arrosto [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: nervoso [natural native speed] |
| Marco: nervous, edgy, bad-tempered |
| Consuelo: nervoso [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: nervoso [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Marco: Let's have a closer look at the usuage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Marco: Consuelo, what word are we studying today? |
| Consuelo: Today, we're studying the word "caro." |
| Marco: "Dear" or "loved." |
| Consuelo: In the dialogue, Melissa talks about "persone care." |
| Marco: That stands for "beloved people" or "someone who is very close to you." |
| Consuelo: Yep. We often use the phrase "uno dei miei più cari amici." |
| Marco: "One of my closest friends." |
| Consuelo: Or "la morte di una persona cara." |
| Marco: "The death of a loved one." |
| Consuelo: Please don't forget that the adjective "caro" also mean "expensive" in Italian. |
| Marco: Ah, okay, don't confuse it with expensive friends! |
| Consuelo: Ah, ah right. |
| Marco: "Grazie," Consuelo. We learned some other expressions we can use to be nice and polite with our Italian friends. |
| Consuelo: "Sì!" |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Consuelo: Let's take a look at today's grammar point. |
| Marco: In today's class, we focus on "the partitive article." |
| Consuelo: "Il partitivo." |
| Marco: The partitive article is used to indicate imprecise or approximate quantities. |
| Consuelo: The most common way to express the "articolo partitivo" in Italian is with the preposition "di" plus a definite article, whether singular or plural. |
| Marco: As a result, we have the following partitive articles… |
| Consuelo: The feminine singular is "della," and the feminine plural is "delle." |
| Marco: The feminine before nouns beginning with a vowel is "dell'" with an apostrophe at the singular and "delle" at the plural. |
| Consuelo: The masculine singular is "del," and the masculine plural is "dei." |
| Marco: The masculine form before nouns beginning with a vowel is "dell'" with an apostrophe at the singular and "degli" at the plural. |
| Consuelo: The masculine form before nouns beginning with the letter "-z", the letter "-s" plus a consonant, or the letters "-gn" is "dello" at the singular and "degli" at the plural. |
| Marco: In the dialogue, we heard "degli amici favolosi," which means "some fantastic friends." |
| Consuelo: "Delle persone care." |
| Marco: "Some beloved people." |
| Consuelo: And "dell'arrosto." |
| Marco: "Some roast." Consuelo, let's make some other examples with partitive articles. |
| Consuelo: Okay. "Ho comprato delle uova, del caffè, del cacao in polvere, del mascarpone e dei savoiardi per preparare il Tiramisù." |
| Marco: "I bought some eggs, some coffee, some cocoa powder, some mascarpone cheese, and some sponge fingers to prepare tiramisu." |
| Consuelo: "Ho portato dei pennarelli, delle matite, della carta e della tempera per disegnare con i bambini." |
| Marco: "I brought some felt-tip pens, some pencils, some paper, and some tempera to draw with the kids." |
| Consuelo: Please remember that it is better not to use the "articolo partitivo" in negative sentences. |
| Marco: For instance? |
| Consuelo: "Non bevo latte." |
| Marco: "I do not drink milk." |
| Consuelo: "Marcella non ha monete per il parcheggio." |
| Marco: "Marcella does not have coins for parking." |
| Consuelo: When expressing "some" in Italian, we can also use "alcuni" and "alcune" with plural nouns… |
| Marco: "Qualche" with singular nouns, although it expresses a plural meaning… |
| Consuelo: Or "un po' di," which means "a bit of" or "some." |
| Marco: Let's hear some other examples now. |
| Consuelo: "Compro alcuni vestiti." Or saying "Compro qualche vestito" is exactly the same in Italian. |
| Marco: "I buy some clothes." |
| Consuelo: "Incontro alcune amiche" is the same as saying "Incontro qualche amica." |
| Marco: "I meet some friends." |
| Consuelo: "Vorrei un po' di zucchero per favore." |
| Marco: In this case, you used "un po' di." "I would like some sugar, please." |
Outro |
| Marco: That just about does it for today. |
| Marco: Listeners, do you know the reason flashcards are so popular? |
| Consuelo: It's because they work! |
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| Marco: Words in My Wordbank come with audio, so you learn proper pronunciation. |
| Consuelo: While you learn to recognize words by sight! |
| Marco: Go to ItalianPod101.com now, and try My Wordbank and Flashcards today! |
12 Comments
HideDo you like tiramisù?
Ciao Pam,
unfortunately, there are no fixed rules for when to use compound articles. Well, there are some rules, but there are also lots of exceptions!
For example, it's ok to say both "nel frigo" and "in frigo". The meaning is the same. My advice is to just listen and read as much Italian as you can, and in the end, you will intuitively know when to use compound prepositions.
Sincerely,
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
Ciao!
Mi scusi, io non posso parlare (ne scrivere) buono, ma io imparo. Non capisco per che molte volte si usa il articulo definito e altre volte no (come: in frigo.... scritto sotto.)
Grazie!!
Hi Grant,
"proprio" has 2 different meanings. One is, just like you said, "one's own".
Another use for "proprio" is to emphasize something. It could be translated as "really, very, right".
PROPRIO una festa inaspettata -> a VERY unexpected party.
Other examples:
Sono proprio contenta! -> I'm really glad!
Il vino è proprio accanto al latte, in frigo -> The wine is right next to the milk, in the fridge
I hope this helps!
Sincerely,
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
Ciao a tutti....I am having trouble translating the third response from A...……….proprio una festa inaspettata.
How does "proprio" fit in here? I understand it to mean "one's (own) but can't see how it is used here?
Hi Frank,
Thank you for posting!
We hope to see you often at ItalianPod101.com!
Sincerely,
Cristiane
Team ItalianPod101.com
Si, verissimo!
Ciao Brian,
Il tiramisù è delizioso! :smile:
Tiramisu is delicious!
Grazie per il commento! Thank you for posting!
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
Sì, mi piace molto il tiramisù!
Yes, I like tiramisù a lot!
Hi everyone,
Thank you for posting!
@Ken, that's interesting! For Italians tiramisù is something like a heart food :heart: :innocent:simple, cheap and delicious!
Your sentences are all correct, you just forgot the auxiliary verb in "mi colpito"=> "mi ha colpito".
@ Heba Abed,
Please find that in the Lesson Notes, between page 4 and page 5.
A presto!
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
Hi,
For better understanding of articolo partitivo, would you kindly write them down on a table with some examples in the lessons notes and the lesson transcript. The table will help us memorize the articles easily - thanks:)