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