Italian 3.4. Indefinite Adjectives & Pronouns

Level I 1. Alphabet & Pronunciation 1.1. Vowels 1.2. Syllable Stress 2. Similarities to English 2.1. Negation, Punctuation, & Written Accents 3. Gender & Plural 4. Cardinal Numbers 5. Subject Personal Pronouns 6. Present Indicative Tense I 7. The Articles 8. Interrogative Pronouns & Adjectives Level II 1. Prepositions 2. Present Indicative Tense II – Irregular Verbs 3. Possessive Adjectives & Pronouns 4. Demonstrative Pronouns & Adjectives 5. Object Personal Pronouns 6. Relative Pronouns 7. Ordinal Numbers I 8. Basic Phrases 9. Times & Seasons Level III 1. Verbs like “Piacere” 2. Present Perfect Tense 3. The Verb “To Know”: “Sapere” vs. “Conoscere” 4. Indefinite Adjectives & Pronouns 5. Conjunctions 6. Simple Future Tense 7. Telling Time & Describing Weather 8. Adverbs 8.1. Other Adverbs & Adverbial Phrases 9. Directions Level IV 1. Degrees of Comparison: Comparatives & Superlatives 2. Partitives 3. Reflexive Pronouns & Verbs 4. Expressions Using “Avere” & “Fare” 5. Present Subjunctive Tense I 6. Present Progressive Tense 7. Future Perfect Tense 8. Interjections Level V 1. The Pronouns “Ci” & “Ne” 2. Past Absolute Tense 3. Imperative Mood & Giving Commands 4. The Conditional Tenses 5. Present Subjunctive Tense 6. Present Perfect Subjunctive Tense 7. Imperfect Indicative Tense 8. Past & Conditional Progressive Tenses Level VI 1. Ordinal Numbers II 2. The Past Infinitive 3. Imperfect Subjunctive Tense 4. Pluperfect Indicative Tense 5. Pluperfect Subjunctive Tense 6. Passive Voice & Impersonal “Si” 7. Idiomatic Pronominal Verbs 8. Diminutives & Augmentatives
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Indefinite adjectives describe a noun in a vague or non-specific way. For example, “altra gente” (other people), “ogni persona” (eachperson), “parecchie cose” (several things), “Tutte le scuole” (all schools), etc.

On the other hand, an indefinite pronoun replaces the noun in a vague and non-specific way. For example, “Ti dico qualcosa” (I tell you something), “Parlo con qualcuno” (I speak to someone), “Va tutto bene(All is well), etc.

Many indefinite pronouns are identical to their indefinite adjective counterpart. For example, “tutto(all), “altro(other) and “molto” (muchor many).

Unlike most adjectives in Italian, indefinite adjectives precede the noun they describe. Some also change form to agree with the noun in gender and number. Indefinite adjectives and pronouns are used abundantly in Italian. Thus, it is very useful to learn the most common ones.

Most Common Indefinite Adjectives & Pronouns in Italian

Here is a list of the most common indefinite adjectives and pronouns:

 Meaning Examples
abbastanzaenoughindef. adj. & pron.Ho abbastanza soldi.I have enough money.
troppo, -a, -i, -etoo much, too manyindef. adj. & pron.Qui c’è troppa gente.There are too many people here.
l’uno l’altro
l’una l’altra
each otherindef. adj. & pron.Devono aiutarsi lun laltro.They must help each other.
l’uno o l’altro
l’una o l’altra
one or the otherindef. adj. & pron.Devi scegliere luna o laltra di queste case.You must choose one or the other of these houses.
entrambi, -ebothindef. adj. & pron.Entrambe le opzioni sono disponibili.Both options are available.
gli altri
le altre
the othersindef. adj. & pron.Gli altri non sono disponibili.The others are not available.
il restothe restindef. adj. & pron.Il resto del mondo sta soffrendo.The rest of the world is suffering.
stesso, -a, -i, -esame, selfindef. adj. & pron.È la stessa persona che abbiamo visto ieri sera.It is the same person we saw last night.
certo, -a, -i, -ecertainindef. adj. & pron.Solo certe persone possono farlo.Only certain people can do that.
altro, -a, -i, -eother, anotherindef. adj. & pron.Vorrei un altro bicchiere d’acqua, per favore.I’d like another glass of water, please.
tutto, -aall, everyindef. adj. & pron.Piove tutto l’anno nel paese.All year round, it rains in the country.
tutti, -eall, everybodyindef. adj. & pron.Tutti noi veniamo dall’Australia.All of us are from Australia.
poco, -alittle, not muchindef. adj. & pron.Abbiamo bisogno di poco tempo per arrivare.We need little time to arrive.
pochi, -efewindef. adj. & pron.Ha pochi amici a scuola.He has few friends at school.
molto, -a, -i, -emuch, manyindef. adj. & pron.Ci sono molte opzioni per i giovani.There are many options for young people.
vari(e) variousindef. adj. & pron.Vari campi sono aperti a tutti.Various fields are open to everyone.
parecchi(e)
diversi, -e
severalindef. adj. & pron.Puoi leggere diversi libri su questo argomento.You can read several books on this topic.
qualsiasiany, whicheverindef. adj. & pron.Portami qualsiasi libro trovi.Bring me any book you find.
alcuni, -a
qualche
some, fewindef. adj. & pron.Ho solo una casa e alcuni libri.I only have a house and some books.
ogni
ciascuno
each, everyindef. adj.Giochiamo a calcio ogni sabato.We play soccer every Saturday.
qualcosasomethingindef. pron.Voglio dire qualcosa di molto importante.I want to say something very important.
qualcunosomeoneindef. pron.Ho parlato con qualcuno di molto interessante.I talked with someone very interesting.
nientenothingindef. pron.Oggi non farò niente tutto il giorno.I am going to do nothing all day today.
nessunonobody not any indef. pron.Non c’è nessuno in ufficio oggi.Nobody is in the office today.
chiunquewhoeverindef. pron.Chiunque sia, non è importante.Whoever it is, it is not important.

Indefinite Adjective vs. Pronoun

Note that “ogni” and “ciascuno/-a(each) can only be used as indefinite adjectives because they are always followed by a noun.

For example, “ogni libro(each book), “ciascun libro(each book), “ciascun numero” (each number), “ciascuno studente(each student), etc.

On the other hand, “qualcosa” (something), “qualcuno” (somebody), “niente” (nothing), and “nessuno” (nobody) can only be used as indefinite pronouns because they cannot be followed by a noun, e.g., “Non è successo niente(Nothing happened).

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