In this comparative grammar lesson of Romance languages, we study the partitives in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, & French. To refer to an unidentified quantity of something in English, we often use words or phrases like “some,” “a few,” and “a little bit of.” These are called partitives because they refer to a part of something, whether it is countable, e.g., “some trees,” or uncountable, e.g., “some water.”
Table of Contents
- Partitives in Spanish & Portuguese
- Partitives in Italian & French
- Further Notes on Partitive Articles
- Level V – Advanced
Partitives in Spanish & Portuguese
In Spanish and Portuguese, the indefinite articles in plural form can be used to mean “some.” Here are some examples:
| SP | un | un hombre (a man) | unos | unos hombres (some men) |
| una | una casa (a house) | unas | unas casas (some houses) | |
| PT | um | um homem (a man) | uns | uns homens (some men) |
| uma | uma casa (a house) | umas | umas casas (some houses) |
In addition, one can use other partitive words meaning “some” or “a bit of,” for example:
| SP | algunos | some | un poco de | a bit of |
| pocos | few | ciertos | certain | |
| PT | alguns | some | um pouco de | a bit of |
| poucos | few | certos | certain |
Partitives in Italian & French
In Italian and French, the most common way to form a partitive is using the preposition “di” in Italian or “de” in French followed by a definite article, also known as a partitive article. This would literally translate to “of the.” However, it serves more as an equivalent to the partitive “some” in English.
Countable Nouns
In Italian, because countable nouns have a plural form, we use the preposition “di” followed by the plural definite article “i” or “gli” for masculine and “le” for feminine. This results in the three following partitive articles:
| di + | gli | = | degli | Before a plural masculine noun that begins with a vowel, “z,” “gn,” “ps,” or “s” + consonant |
| i | = | dei | Before any other plural masculine noun | |
| le | = | delle | Before any plural feminine noun |
Let us take some examples with countable nouns:
| un ragazzo | a boy | dei ragazzi | some boys |
| un albero | a tree | degli alberi | some trees |
| una casa | a house | delle case | some houses |
| un porto | a port | dei porti | some ports |
| uno zio | an uncle | degli zii | some uncles |
| una stanza | a room | delle stanze | some rooms |
| uno sbaglio | a mistake | degli sbagli | some mistakes |
| un libro | a book | dei libri | some books |
| uno schermo | a screen | degli schermi | some screens |
Remember that using partitive articles is not the only way to describe an undefined quantity of countable nouns in Italian. Other partitive words include “alcuni/-e” and “qualche,” both meaning “some.” The more specific partitive “certi/-e” (certain) can also be used depending on the context.
Let us take some examples:
| una casa | a house | alcune case | qualche casa | certe case | some houses |
| un porto | a port | alcuni porti | qualche porto | certi porti | some ports |
| uno zio | an uncle | alcuni zii | qualche zio | certi zii | some uncles |
Notice that “qualche” is invariable and always followed by a singular noun although the meaning is plural.
In French, we use the partitive article “des,” which comes from the contraction of the preposition “de” and the plural definite article “les.”
Let us look at some examples with countable nouns:
| un garçon | a boy | des garçons | some boys |
| un arbre | a tree | des arbres | some trees |
| une maison | a house | des maisons | some houses |
| une erreur | a mistake | des erreurs | some mistakes |
Similarly, other partitive words like “quelques” (some) and “certain(e)s” (certain) can be used in French. For example:
| un livre | a book | quelques livres | certains livres | some books |
| une fille | a girl | quelques filles | certaines filles | some houses |
Uncountable Nouns
By uncountable nouns, we refer to nouns that are not often used in plural form, even if a plural form can be used in some contexts. For example, in English, we could say “three fruits” referring to three pieces of fruit. However, the word “fruit” is often used as an uncountable noun. Here, we discuss how to refer to an undefined quantity of such nouns when used in their uncountable form.
In Italian, to refer to an uncountable noun using a partitive article, we treat it as a singular noun. Thus, we use the preposition “di” followed by the singular definite article “l’,” “il,” or “lo” for masculine and “l’” or “la” for feminine. This results in the three following partitive articles:
| di + | l’ | = | dell’ | Before a masculine or feminine uncountable noun that begins with a vowel |
| lo | = | dello | Before a masculine uncountable noun that begins with “z,” “gn,” “ps,” or “s” + consonant | |
| il | = | del | Before any other masculine uncountable noun | |
| la | = | della | Before any other feminine uncountable noun |
Let us take some examples with uncountable nouns:
| l’acqua | the water | dell’acqua | some water |
| lo zucchero | the sugar | dello zucchero | some sugar |
| il pane | the bread | del pane | some bread |
| la pasta | the pasta | della pasta | some pasta |
| l’orzo | the barley | dell’orzo | some barley |
| il latte | the milk | del latte | some milk |
| la frutta | the fruit | della frutta | some fruit |
As an alternative to partitive articles, one can, depending on the context, use the partitive word “un po’ di” (a bit of) to refer to an undefined quantity of an uncountable noun.
Here are some examples:
| l’acqua | the water | un po’ d’acqua | a bit of water |
| lo zucchero | the sugar | un po’ di zucchero | a bit of sugar |
| il pane | the bread | un po’ di pane | a bit of bread |
| la pasta | the pasta | un po’ di pasta | a bit of pasta |
In French, we use the preposition “de” followed by the singular definite article “le,” “la,” or “l’.” This results in the three following partitive articles:
| de + | l’ | = | de l’ | Before a masculine or a feminine noun that begins with a vowel or a mute “h” |
| le | = | du | Before a masculine noun that does not begin with a vowel or a mute “h” | |
| la | = | de la | Before a feminine noun that does not begin with a vowel or a mute “h” |
Let us look at some examples with uncountable nouns:
| l’eau | the water | de l’eau | some water |
| le sucre | the sugar | du sucre | some sugar |
| la viande | the meat | de la viande | some meat |
| le pain | the bread | du pain | some bread |
| la pluie | the rain | de la pluie | some rain |
| le lait | the milk | du lait | some milk |
As an alternative to partitive articles, one can use the partitive word “un peu de” (a bit of) to refer to an undefined quantity of an uncountable noun. For example:
| l’eau | the water | un peu d’eau | a bit of water |
| le sucre | the sugar | un peu de sucre | a bit of sugar |
| la viande | the meat | un peu de viande | a bit of meat |
Further Notes on Partitive Articles
- Remember that if an adjective precedes the noun, the definite article, and thus the partitive article, must change according to the beginning of the adjective, for example:
| IT | dell’orzo | some barley | del nuovo orzo | some new barley |
| FR | d’orge | de la nouvelle orge |
- In Italian, the partitive article is often dropped in the following cases:
- When listing two or more items. The partitive article is often dropped rather than repeated before each item, e.g., “Vorrei pane e zucchero” (I would like bread and sugar), “Abbiamo finito il riso, la pasta, la carne e l’acqua” (We ran out of rice, pasta, meat and water), etc.
- In negative sentences. The partitive is omitted in negative sentences whether the noun is countable or uncountable, e.g., “Non ho zii” (I don’t have uncles), “Non voglio zucchero” (I don’t want sugar), “Non c’è pane” (There isn’t bread), etc.
- In French, if the sentence is in the negative, the partitive is omitted and replaced with “de,” whether the noun is countable or uncountable, e.g., “Je n’ai pas d’oncles” (I don’t have uncles), “Je ne veux pas de sucre” (I don’t want sugar), “Il n’y a pas de pain” (There isn’t bread), etc. The only exception is when the verb “être” (to be) is used. In this case, the partitive article is used, e.g., “Ce n’est pas de l’eau” (This is not water), “Ce n’est pas de la viande” (This is not meat), etc.
- In negative sentences with countable nouns, the negative meaning of “any,” as in “There isn’t any bread,” can be rendered by the use of “nessuno” and its variants in Italian or “aucun(e)” in French. Both words are treated like an indefinite article. They convey the meaning of “not one” or “not any,” and are always followed by a singular noun even if the meaning is plural. Here are some examples:
| IT | Non c’è nessun albero nel deserto. | There aren’t any trees in the desert. |
| FR | Il n’y a aucun arbre dans le désert. | |
| IT | Non c’è nessuna casa in questa zona. | There aren’t any houses in this area. |
| FR | Il n’y a aucune maison dans cette zone. |
Next: Past & Conditional Progressive Tenses
Back to: Comparative Grammar Lessons
Other lessons in Level V:
