Essere conjugation – Extremely useful

One of the very first steps when learning Italian is to learn the conjugation of Essere.

Essere is the most common verb in Italian. It literally means to be, to exist and you will basically need it to say everything in Italian, like:

• sono americano – I’m American
• sono felice – I’m happy
• sono stato in Italia – I’ve been in Italy

So, what are you waiting for? You need to learn this verb right now! Here below you will find tables with all Essere Conjugations with examples. And in the last paragraph you will also learn more ways to use it.

Let’s start with the tenses of the Indicative mood.

Essere Conjugation – Presente 

First thing to know is that Essere follows an irregular conjugation, meaning that you can’t apply the rules of regular verbs when conjugating it, but you need to learn it by heart:

Sono molto stanca. – I am very tired. Same as in English, Italians use the present tense to express habits, general rules, or actions that are happening right now.

Lui è a Parigi? –  Is he in Paris?
Siete a casa. – You are at home.

Usually it’s not necessary to use the pronouns (io, tu, lui, lei, noi, voi, loro) before the verb in Italian. You can just use the verb without pronouns and your sentence will make sense because, as you can see from the table above, each person has its own form. 

Even with sono the context always shows whether it means “I am” or “They are”:

Sono americano – I am American.
Sono americani – They are American.

Essere Conjugation – Imperfetto

This tense is used to describe events that happened continuously in the past on a regular basis, to make descriptions in the past and to talk about feelings in the past.

Quando ero bambina andavo in Italia ogni estate. – When I was a kid, I used to go to Italy every Summer.
Eravamo molto felici quando Marco è arrivato. – We were very happy when Marco came.
Era una bella giornata, c’era il sole e non pioveva. – It was a beautiful day, it was sunny and it wasn’t raining.

Essere Conjugation – Passato Prossimo 

Passato Prossimo is the main past tense in Italian , you need to use it when talking about events happened in the past, when talking about what have you done this morning, yesterday, one year ago and so on.

Siamo stati benissimo insieme. – We had a great time together.
Lui è stato molto fortunato. – He was very lucky.
Sono stato in Italia l’anno scorso. – I’ve been in Italy last year. 

Essere Conjugation –  Futuro Semplice 

The future tense in Italian is used to express an action that has yet to happen. If you want to know more about it, check it out here.

Some examples:
Sarò in ritardo, potete cominciare senza di me? –   I will be late, can you start without me?
Andiamo a Salerno domani? Sarà una bella giornata. – Are we going to Salerno tomorrow? It will be a beautiful day.
Un giorno saranno famosi. – One day, they will be famous.

Essere Conjugation – Passato Remoto 

Passato remoto is very often found in literature and history books. It’s used to express actions that happened a long time ago. It can be very useful to recognize it, even though you don’t need to use it, you can use passato prossimo instead.

Molti libri furono perduti durante l’incendio – Many books were lost in the fire.
Dante Alighieri fu il più importante scrittore italiano. – Dante Alighieri was the most important Italian writer.

Essere Conjugation – Trapassato Prossimo 

This tense is used to say that something happened before another event in the past. For example: 

Non eravamo mai stati a Roma prima. – We had never been to Rome before.
Sono andata al supermercato anche se ci ero già stata stamattina – I went to the supermarket even though I had already been there this morning.

Essere Conjugation – Trapassato Remoto

To be honest, you won’t need to use this tense, you may see it in literature or story books. It is used to talk about an event in the past that has happened before another event in the passato remoto.

Essere Conjugation – Futuro anteriore

Same as futuro semplice, futuro anteriore is used to express a future action. But in this case the action happened before the futuro semplice. See the example:

Quando sarò stato in Italia almeno una volta, allora dirò di conoscerla.
When I will have been to Italy at least once, then I will say that I know it.

You could also use the futuro semplice instead.

Essere Conjugation – Condizionale Presente

The conditional is used to express an intention, will, or polite request. It’s used to express an action that would happen but depends on certain conditions. If you want to know more about this tense, click here. 

Sarebbe bello. – It would be nice.
Se fossi un uomo ricco, sarei molto felice. – If I were a rich man, I would be very happy.

Essere Conjugation – Condizionale Passato 

Sarei stato contento di vederti – I would have been happy to see you 

Essere Conjugation – Congiuntivo Presente

The Subjunctive mood, or Congiuntivo in Italian, is not very used in English. It’s a mood of possibility and it is used to express uncertainty, hopes, and fears. It usually come after che.

Examples:

Farò il mio meglio affinché tu sia contenta. – I will do my best so that you are happy.
È meglio che loro siano soddisfatti. – It’s better if they are pleased.
Penso che lui sia molto stanco. – I think he is very tired.

Essere Conjugation – Congiuntivo Imperfetto

Vorrei che tu fossi più sincera. – I wish you were more honest.We use Congiuntivo Imperfetto when the main clause has past tense, conditional tense or imperfect tense.

Speravo che questa volta non fossimo in ritardo. – I hoped that this time we wouldn’t be late.
Sarebbe meglio se lui fosse più interessante. – It would be better if he was more interesting.

Essere Conjugation – Congiuntivo Passato 

Example:
Penso che sia stato facile – I think it has been easy

Essere Conjugation – Congiuntivo Trapassato

Example:
Se tu fossi stato più attento, non saresti caduto
If you had been more careful, you would not have fallen

Essere Conjugation –  Imperativo

Using this mode in Italian we can give an order or instructions. Essere has its own forms even here. More about the imperative you can learn here.

Non ti preoccupare, sii felice – Don’t worry, be happy.
Siate prudenti! – Be careful!

Essere Conjugation –  Infinito

Examples:
Essere o non essere? – to be or not to be?
Ho capito di essere stato uno sciocco  – I realized I have been a fool 

Essere Conjugation – Participio

While essente is almost obsolete, stato is used in the compound tenses of Essere, as you may have noticed from the conjugations.

Essere Conjugation – Gerundio

You can learn more about the gerund here. 

How do you use essere in Italian?

As we already mentioned, essere means to be, to exist. We use it to express who we are, to describe our mood and how we feel.

Same as in English, we use ESSERE to:

• say our name
• describe how we feel
• talk about our profession
• describe someone or something
• describe where something is located
• ask about the time

Let’s take a look at these examples:

• Io sono Marco. – I am Marco.
• Lui è molto triste perché ha perso le chiavi. – He is very sad because he lost the keys.
• I miei genitori sono italiani, invece io sono nata negli Stati Uniti – My parents are Italian, but I was born in the US
• Mia sorella è insegnante. – My sister is a teacher.
• La ragazza di Luigi è veramente simpatica. – Luigi’s girlfriend is very nice.
• Questi libri sono nuovi e sono molto utili. – These books are new and very useful.
• Noi siamo a casa, e voi dove siete? – We are at home, and where are you?
• Il Colosseo è a Roma. – The colosseum is in Rome.
• Che ore sono? Sono le otto. – What time is it? It’s eight o’clock.

Other uses of essere

Esserci: there is – there are

With pronoun CI we use essere to indicate the presence. Same as in English “there is” or “there are”.

C’è un libro sul tavolo. – There is a book on the table.
Fammi sapere se ci sono problemi. – Let me know if there are problems.

Essere di: to be from

Di dove sei? Sono di New York.
Di dov’è tuo cugino? Lui è di Roma.

Essere as auxiliary verb

The verb essere is also an auxiliary verb. That means that, together with the verb avere, it is used to form the compound tenses (composed of the auxiliary verb + the past participle), such as passato prossimo, congiuntivo passato or futuro anteriore.

Sono arrivata ieri a Milano. – I arrived yesterday in Milano,
Quando sarà entrata nella camera, vedrà la sorpresa. – When she enters in the room, she will see the surprise.

Comparisons with English

Essere, o non essere, questo è il dilemma! – To be, or not to be, this is the problem!

A part of the essere conjugation that should be learned by heart, the use of the verb Essere seems pretty easy and almost the same as in English. However, there are exceptions to which you should pay attention to.

Do NOT use essere to say :

• the age
• how you are
• what you are doing in the moment

Let’s see what verbs to use in these situations instead.

Italians won’t say: “I am 25 years old.” They would say: “I have 25 years.” Instead of the verb essere they use the verb avere (to have). 

Quanti anni hai? Ho 25 anni. – How many years do you have? I have 25 years.

If you want to ask an Italian “How are you?” you won’t use the verb essere but the verb stare. Please check out here the difference between essere and stare.

Come stai? Sto bene, grazie. – How are you? I’m good, thank you.

If you want to talk about an action that is happening right now, you won’t use the verb to be as the English expression “to be doing something“. Instead, to make the continuous form in Italian is used the verb stare.

Sto parlando al telefono. – I’m talking on the phone.
Cosa stai facendo? – What are you doing?

To conclude, if you want to practice Italian Grammar and tenses here is a list of useful books for you:

By: Lucia Aiello

Lucia Aiello is one of the co-founders of LearnItalianGo. Born and raised in Italy, she is a passionate Italian teacher and language enthusiast.

Andare Conjugation

Andare Conjugation is one of the most important things to learn in Italian, since andare translates to go (or to travel) and it’s used when you want to talk about movement from one point to another by any means of transport – on foot or else.

For example:

Vado a Roma in aereo, poi vado alla stazione in treno e vado a piedi all’hotel. 
I go to Rome by plane, then I go to the station by train and I go to the hotel by foot.

Because andare is irregular in many tenses, it is very important to learn how to conjugate andare, so you’ll feel more comfortable using it.

So… Andiamo! Let’s go!

Andare Conjugation – Modo Indicativo

First of all, let’s start by conjugating andare in the finite mood, indicative (indicativo) which is used to express certainty of an action. It has four simple tenses (made of one word) and four compound tenses (i.e. it’s made of two components: an auxiliary verb – essere or avere depending on the verb – and the past participle of the verb – participio passato). Each of these tenses indicate the time when the action, or event, takes place.

Andare in Presente

For example:

Vado a scuola in autobus.
I go to school by bus.

Carla va dal dottore tutti i mesi.
Carla goes to the doctor every month.

Domani i tuoi amici vanno in pizzeria, vuoi andare anche tu?
Tomorrow your friends will go to a pizza place, do you also want to go?

As you can see from the last example, Italian uses the present tense to describe current actions, or events, but also to express future ones. However, you understand you are talking about something that will happen in the future thanks to the presence of time adverbs, in this case tomorrow (domani).

Andare in Passato Prossimo 

Furthermore, andare is an intransitive verb, as most movement verbs, meaning it cannot take a direct object and is used with essere in compound tenses (i.e. tenses with auxiliary essere or avere + past participle of the verb) such as passato prossimo (past tense). Its past participle is andato.

When you encounter a verb which requires essere as auxiliary verb, the past participle agrees with the subject of the sentence in number – singular or plural – and in gender – masculine or feminine – therefore you have four forms: andato (masculine singular), andata (feminine singular), andati (masculine plural), andate (feminine plural).

Use the conjugation of andare in passato prossimo to talk about something you have started and completed in the past. That’s usually an action, or event, which happened only once. For example:

Giulia, sei mai andata al mare in Italia?
Julia, have you ever gone to the beach in Italy?

Stamattina Marco è andato al bar a comprare le brioche.
This morning Marco went to the coffee shop to buy croissants.

Dove siete andate in vacanza tu e tua figlia quest’estate?
Where did you and your daughter go on vacation this summer?

Andare in Imperfetto 

Unlike passato prossimo, the imperfetto is used to talk about recurring or habitual actions of the past, or to describe something or someone of the past. You can even use this tense to describe what happened while another action was in progress.

For example:

Da bambina andavo sempre a giocare al parco.
As a child I always went to play at the park.

Bruno andava a casa di mia nonna dopo scuola.
Bruno used to go to my grandmother’s house after school.

Mentre andavo al supermercato, ho incontrato i miei colleghi.
While I was going to the supermarket, I met my colleagues.

Andare in Trapassato Prossimo

Trapassato prossimo is a compound tense used to describe an action which happened before another action happened in the past. Because of this, it’s rarely used by itself.

For example:

Erano già andati a casa, quando li hanno chiamati per tornare in ufficio.
They had already gone home when they called them to return to the office.

Non ero mai andata a teatro, prima di conoscerti.
I had never gone to the theatre, before I met you.

Andare in Passato Remoto 

Passato remoto is mostly used in formal written language, like school books or novels, when referring to an event happened in a distant past. Consequently, it’s barely used in spoken language (usually substituted by passato prossimo), so you just learn it in order to recognize it.

For example:

Nel 1777 LaFayette andò negli Stati Uniti.
In 1777 LaFayette went to the United States.

Andare in Trapassato Remoto

Trapassato remoto is used to talk about an action happened before another one in the past. Actually, you use it only if the other verb is conjugated in the passato remoto. For this reason, this is the less common tense in Italian.

Andare in Futuro Semplice

As you may notice, Italians tend to avoid using the future in favor of the present tense – if the context makes clear that you are talking about a future action. Nonetheless, you can use this tense also to talk about expectations, assumptions or uncertainty.

For example:

A settembre andremo/andiamo in vacanza in Sicilia.
In September we will go on vacation in Sicily.

Forse Lucia andrà a festeggiare dopo il suo diploma.
Maybe Lucia is going to celebrate after her diploma.

Andare in Futuro Anteriore

The futuro anteriore is an uncommon tense, but you need it when you talk about a future action which will only occur after something else has happened. To clarify, the action that will take place first is in futuro anteriore, the one that follows in futuro semplice.

For example:

Ti inviterò a cena, appena i miei saranno andati in campagna.
I’ll invite you for dinner, as soon as my parents go to the countryside.

Andare Conjugation: Modo Congiuntivo

Secondly, there is the subjunctive mood, modo congiuntivo, of andare conjugation. This mood is used when you want to express doubts, opinions, wishes, hopes and hypotheses. It follows verbs that express these meanings (ex. volere, credere, sperare, pensare, etc.) or after certain conjunctions (ex. nonostante, benché, sebbene, a condizione che, etc.), and it rarely stands by itself. The congiuntivo has two simple and two compound tenses.

Here it is the modo congiuntivo of andare conjugation, ready?! Andiamo!

Andare in Congiuntivo Presente

For example:

Voglio che almeno oggi tu vada a casa presto.
I want that at least today you go home early.

Nonostante andiate sempre fuori a giocare, non siete mai stanchi.
Even if you always go out to play, you are never tired.

Andare in Congiuntivo Passato

For example:

Tutti pensano che ieri siate andati a ballare.
Everyone thinks that you went dancing yesterday.

Andare in Congiuntivo Imperfetto 

For example:

Temevo i tuoi amici non andassero più via.
I was afraid your friend would never leave.

Andare in Congiuntivo Trapassato

For example:

Non sapevate che fossimo andati a Cannes?
Didn’t you know that we went to Cannes?

Andare Conjugation – Modo Condizionale

Furthermore, another mood of andare conjugation is the condizionale . It is mostly used to form hypotheses in combination with the congiuntivo.

Andare in Condizionale Presente 

For example:

Andrei al mare tutti i giorni, se potessi.
I would go to the beach every day, if I could.

Andare in Condizionale Passato

For example:

Se avessi avuto più tempo, sarei andato anche al museo.
If I had had more time, I would have gone to the museum too.

Andare Conjugation – Imperativo

In this paragraph, you’ll learn the last finite mood of andare conjugation, the imperativo mood, which is mainly used to give orders. That’s why the first-person singular form doesn’t exist. 

For example:

Vai subito dentro casa!
Go inside the house right away!

Andare Conjugation –  Modi Indefiniti

Last but not least, here are the indefinite mood forms of the verb andare conjugation. They are impersonal and they only have two forms: present and past.

Andare in Infinito

For example:

Dobbiamo andare a trovare i nonni.
We have to go visit the grandparents.

Andare in Participio

As we mentioned in the passato prossimo paragraph, the past participle is used in compound tenses.

For example:

Sono andato in Italia l’anno scorso.
I went to Italy last year.

Andare in Gerundio

For example:

Andando in macchina, puoi fermarti quando vuoi.
Driving you can stop whenever you want.

And you are ready to go!

Vai a parlare in italiano! And tell everyone where you go, where you have gone and will go in Italy!

And, to conclude, if you want to practice Italian Grammar and tenses here is a list of useful books for you:

By: Lucia Aiello

Lucia Aiello is one of the co-founders of LearnItalianGo. Born and raised in Italy, she is a passionate Italian teacher and language enthusiast.

Italian Indefinite articles – When to use them

Italian indefinite articles are un, uno, una, un’ and they translate the English indefinite articles a/an. They find their position before the noun to specify an uncountable noun.

Generally, they are used before names of professions, common names or surnames referring to a work of art.

See the examples below:

L’anno scorso ho comprato una macchina nuova.
Last year I bought a new car.

Il Signor Martini è un insegnante di tedesco.
Mr Martini is a German teacher.

Riconoscerei un Van Gogh ad un miglio di distanza!
I would be able to recognise a Van Gogh (painting) from a mile away!

Italian Indefinite articles: Un, uno, una or un’?

The use of Italian indefinite articles  depends on the gender of the noun that follows. The only difference is that Italian indefinite articles does not present a plural form, although you could make it in different ways. One of the possible options is using partitive articles we are going to see later in this page.

Unlike the English forms a and an, in Italian there are 4 indefinite articles: un, uno (for masculine nouns), una, un’ (for feminine nouns).

Do you have problems understanding which noun is masculine or feminine?

Here is a little trick for you. If a word ends with –o, very probably it is a masculine noun. On the contrary, if a word ends with –a, you will be quite sure it is a feminine noun.

However, there are some words ending with the vowel -e that could be masculine or feminine. For example the word fiore (flower) is a masculine noun in Italian, while decisione (decision) is feminine.

If you want to be extremely sure, you could check out any Italian dictionary (for example the Italian online dictionary, Treccani) where the gender is always indicated next to the noun in the form of “s.f.” for feminine singular nouns and “s.m.” for masculine singular nouns.

Un

It is used with masculine singular nouns starting with a vowel or a consonant.

Ho sentito alla radio che stamattina è precipitato un aereo sulle Ande.
I heard on the radio that this morning a plane crashed in the Andes.

L’altro giorno ho dato da mangiare ad uno scoiattolo che gironzolava a Central Park.
The other day I fed a squirrel wandering around Central Park.

Uno

It is used with masculine singular nouns beginning with s + another consonant, gn, z, ps, pn, y and x.
See the examples below:

Se credi davvero di essere uno studente modello, allora sei completamente fuori strada!
If you really think you are a straight-A student, then you are sorely mislead!

Non pensi che dovremmo regalarle per il suo compleanno uno gnomo da giardino?
Don’t you think we should give her a garden gnome for her birthday?

Dicono di aver trovato questa mattina uno zaino in aula magna.
They say they found a bag in the auditorium.

Nel caso ti sentissi depresso, ti consiglio di prendere un appuntamento con uno psicologo.
In case you are feeling depressed, I suggest you to make an appointment with a psychologist.

Se non riesci a respirare bene, faresti meglio a vedere uno pneumologo.
If you can’t breathe properly, you had better see a pulmonologist.

Ho sentito che il padre di Justin ha comprato uno yacht dal valore di 700 mila euro!
I heard that Justin’s father spent 700 thousand dollars to buy a luxury yacht!

Non ho mai suonato uno xilofono in vita mia!
I have never played a xylophone in my entire life!

Una

It is used with feminine singular nouns starting with a consonant.

Per il compito di inglese hai bisogno soltanto di una penna e di un foglio.
For the English test all you need is a pen and a sheet of paper.

Janet è una ragazza davvero intelligente. Non le si può nascondere nulla!
Janet is a really smart girl. You can’t hide anything from her!

Un’

It is used with feminine singular nouns starting with a vowel.

Ti aspetto da più di un’ora. Ma dove sei finito?
I have been waiting for you over an hour. Where did you go?

Cosa vuoi per pranzo? Un’insalata o una zuppa di cipolle?
What do you want for lunch? A salad or a onion soup?

Italian indefinite articles with adjectives

Remember that a noun can change its indefinite article if preceded by an adjective:

Un lavoro – Uno splendido lavoro
A job – A great job

Una fidanzata – Un’adorabile fidanzata
A girlfriend – A lovely girlfriend

Uno scoiattolo – un buffo scoiattolo
A squirrel – A funny squirrel

In the Italian language, adjectives are mostly placed after noun. In literature you might bump into this uncommon linguistic choice:

Un’idea – una geniale idea
An idea – a brilliant idea

When not to use Italian indefinite articles – 5 cases

There are some cases where the use of indefinite articles is required in English but not in Italian. Let’s see together when not to use Italian indefinite articles.

1. With the words cento and mille

Ti ho detto cento volte di non sbattere la porta quando esci.
I told you a hundred times not to slam the door when you leave.

Il mese scorso gli ho prestato mille euro ma ancora non me li ha restituiti.
Last month I lent him a thousand euros but he didn’t give them back to me yet.

2. With the indefinite adjectives qualche and molti

Probabilmente la sorella di Jake è andata via qualche ora fa.
Probably Jake’s sister went way a few hours ago.

Si sono conosciuti molti anni fa all’università.
They met a lot of years ago at the university.

3. With exclamations starting with che

Che gioia rivederti dopo tanto tempo!
What a joy to see you after a long time!

Che peccato non poter venire al concerto stasera con voi!
What a pity I can’t come to the concert with you tonight!

Signora Wiggins, che piacere rivederla dopo tutti questi anni!
Mrs Wiggins, what a pleasure to see you again after all these years!

4. When you talk about your job or someone else’s

Credo che il padre di Gaia sia idraulico.
I think Gaia’s father is a plumber.

Il nostro migliore amico è dottore all’ospedale psichiatrico.
Our best friend is a doctor at the mental institution.

E’ diventato ingegnere l’anno scorso quando si è laureato.
He became an engineer last year when he graduated.

5. When you talk about your job or someone else’s using the Italian verb fare

In this case you need to use the Italian definite article.

Faccio il cameriere per aiutare economicamente i miei genitori.
I’m a waiter in order to support my parents financially.

Fa lo scrittore perché il suo sogno è quello di pubblicare un giorno un libro.
He’s a writer because he dreams of publishing a book someday.

Vorrebbe fare la cantante perché dice di cantare come Madonna.
She would like to be a singer because she says she sings like Madonna.

As you can see, in this case the Italian verb fare is translated in English with the verb to be! 

Differences between uno as indefinite article and uno as number

A very common mistake that a foreign learner could make is confusing the Italian indefinite article uno with the number uno.

To be clear, uno as indefinite article refers to a generic and uncountable noun, while uno as number indicates the quantity of a noun in a given context. With the following examples you will be able to understand where the difference is:

Di quanti carciofi hai bisogno per la minestra? Uno o due?
How many artichokes do you need for the soup? One or two?

Ho comprato tanti meloni oggi al mercato. Ne vuoi uno?
I bought a lot of watermelons at the market today. Do you want one?

Ho dimenticato di comprare i pompelmi. Ne è rimasto solo uno, giusto?
I forgot to buy grapefruits. There is only one left, right?

Non ho mai capito cosa faccia esattamente uno speleologo.
I never understood what a speleologist exactly does.

Ma davvero sei riuscito a catturare uno scorfano? È quasi impossibile!
Have you really caught a scorpionfish? It is almost impossible!

Che ne dici di uno sformato di zucchine per pranzo? Ti piace?
What about a zucchini pie for lunch? Do you like it?

Plural forms of Italian indefinite articles 

There are different ways to make the plural form of Italian indefinite articles in order to say some or any.

The first one is the deletion of the indefinite article itself in the following situations:

In negative sentences and questions where the English quantifier any is used

Dice di non aver fatto errori nella sua vita. Naturalmente non gli crede nessuno!
He says he didn’t make any mistakes in his entire life. Obviously nobody believes him!

Non ho guanti per pulire la cucina. Come posso fare?
I haven’t got any kitchen cleaning gloves. What can I do?

Non ci sono biscotti nella credenza perché li hai mangiati tutti ieri.
There aren’t any biscuits in the cupboard because you ate them all yesterday.

Hai mai avuto problemi con la legge? Spero davvero di no!
Have you ever had any brushes with the law? I really hope not!

Ma perché ci sono elicotteri nel cielo stamattina? È successo qualcosa?
Why are there any helicopters in the sky this morning? Did anything happen?

Vendete anche vinili in questo negozio?
Do you sell any records in this shop, too?

In lists

Per la festa di Lucy devi comprare patatine, noccioline e olive.
For Lucy’s party you have to buy chips, peanuts and olives.

In questo centro commerciale puoi trovare camicie, gonne e felpe a metà prezzo.
In this shopping centre you can find shirts, skirts and sweaters at half price.

Qui si vendono giornali, riviste e fumetti.
Here we sell newspapers, magazines and comics.

When specific details are not given

In un paesino come questo ci saranno cose da vedere, non credi?
Will there be things to see in a small town like this, won’t there?

Hanno avuto davvero problemi a trovare parcheggio? Strano!
Did they really have problems to park? Weird!

A causa dell’emergenza sanitaria, è severamente vietato frequentare luoghi di cultura e aggregazione sociale.
Due to the health emergency, it is strictly forbidden to visit places of culture and social gathering.

Use of the Italian indefinite adjectives alcuni/e and certi/e

In order to say ”some” in Italian you can use the Italian indefinite adjectives:

• alcuni  or certi for masculine nouns
• alcune or certe for feminine nouns

Alcune persone dovrebbero tacere anziché parlare a vanvera.
Some people should be quiet instead of talking nonsense.

Purtroppo alcuni miei parenti non verranno alla festa di laurea di mia sorella.
Unfortunately some relatives of mine won’t come to my sister’s graduation party.

Si ricordi che l’offerta è disponibile sono in certi giorni!
Remember that this offer is only available on certain days!

In certe situazioni le donne sanno essere più furbe degli uomini.
In certain situations women can be smarter than men.

Use of Italian partitive articles

In order to make partitive articles, you need to combine the Italian preposition di with Italian definite articles.Followed by an indefinite noun, they are mostly translated as some and any in English.

The following table shows the combination of the preposition di with definite articles:

Devo farti assaggiare dei buoni cioccolatini che mi hanno regalato a Pasqua.
I have to let you taste some delicious chocolates they gave me on Easter.

Degli uccelli sono riusciti ad entrare in casa mia.
Some birds managed to enter my home.

Compreresti delle pizze per tutti noi, per cortesia?
Would you buy any pizzas for all of us, please?

Remember that it is easy to mistake a partitive article with an articulated preposition!

See the difference:

Ho incontrato delle ragazze davvero simpatiche.
I met some really nice girls.

In passato la vita delle ragazze sicuramente era più difficile rispetto ad oggi.
In the past girls’ life was definitely harder than nowadays.

Conclusion

As we have seen until now, using Italian indefinite articles is quite simple, don’t you think? Maybe you could run into problems like recognizing if a noun is feminine or masculine, remembering the main ways of making the plural form or combining a preposition with a definite article… Not easy, nor impossible! What you might do is starting from the given examples and then getting to the grammar. This could be really useful!

A secret to learn them quickly? Listen to some Italian songs and notice how the Italian indefinite articles are used!

And if you want to learn more about Italian Grammar, here there are useful books I suggest you to read:

By: Alfonso Di Somma

Born and raised in Italy, he is an Italian professional translator and a tireless traveler. His main passion? Foreign languages!