Quantifiers/Intensifiers

Italian Quantifiers/Intensifiers

Definite Quantifiers

• Definite quantifiers in Italian specify the exact quantity of something.
• The main definite quantifiers are: ‘tutto’ (all), ‘entrambi’ (both), ‘alcuni’ (some), and the numbers from zero onwards.
• Usage: ‘Tutte le persone’ (all the people), ‘Entrambe le ragazze’ (both the girls), ‘Alcuni libri’ (some books).

Indefinite Quantifiers

• Indefinite quantifiers do not specify the exact quantity. They express an uncertain or approximate quantity.
• Some common indefinite quantifiers include: ‘molti’ (many), ‘pochi’ (few), ‘alcuni’ (some), ‘qualche’ (some), ‘tanto’ (a lot), ‘poco’ (a little).
• Usage: ‘Molti studenti’ (many students), ‘Pochi giorni’ (few days), ‘Alcuni problemi’ (some problems), ‘tanto tempo’ (a lot of time), ‘poco denaro’ (a little money).

Indefinite and Partitive Articles

• When combined with partitive articles (di), they can express indefinite quantities.
• The partitive articles are: ‘del’ (masc. sing.), ‘della’ (fem. sing.), ‘dello’ (masc. sing. before s+consonant, z, gn, ps, x, y), ‘dei’ (masc. plural), ‘delle’ (fem. plural).
• Usage: ‘Vorrei del pane’ (I would like some bread), ‘Hai dello zucchero?’ (Do you have some sugar?).

Intensifiers

• Intensifiers are used to exaggerate or emphasise the degree of adjectives or adverbs.
• The common intensifiers are: ‘molto’ (very), ‘tanto’ (so much), ‘troppo’ (too), ‘abbastanza’ (quite), ‘poco’ (little).
• Usage: ‘Sono molto felice’ (I am very happy), ‘Hai lavorato tanto oggi’ (You worked so much today), ‘Questo libro è troppo interessante’ (This book is too interesting), ‘L’esame era abbastanza difficile’ (The exam was quite difficult).

Remember to practise using quantifiers and intensifiers in your texts and conversations, and to be mindful of their agreement with the noun they are modifying.