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### At the Deli Counter: Asking for "Some"

When you visit an Italian delicatessen (*salumeria*), you use the **partitive article** (*articolo partitivo*) to express "some" or an indefinite quantity of an uncountable mass noun (like bread, cheese, or turkey).

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### Forming the Partitive Article

The partitive article is formed by combining the preposition **di** (of) with the definite article (**il, lo, la, l', i, gli, le**). 

| Definite Article | di + Article | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **il** | **del** | del pane (some bread) |
| **lo** | **dello** | dello spumante (some sparkling wine) |
| **l'** | **dell'** | dell'aceto (some vinegar) |
| **la** | **della** | della mortadella (some mortadella) |
| **i** | **dei** | dei pomodori (some tomatoes) |
| **gli** | **degli** | degli spaghetti (some spaghetti) |
| **le** | **delle** | delle patatine (some potato chips) |

### Singular Mass Nouns

Choose the singular partitive article that matches the noun's gender and starting letter:
- **del** for most masculine nouns
- **della** for most feminine nouns
- **dello** for masculine nouns starting with *s + consonant* or *z*

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If the noun (or the adjective immediately preceding it) starts with a vowel, use **dell'**.

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### Plural Countable Nouns

The partitive article isn't just for liquids and meats. Use its plural forms (**dei**, **degli**, **delle**) with countable nouns to mean "some" or "a few" individual items. 

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The partitive article for "some" (del, della)

adjective

adjective/adverb

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (il, la, l')

Indefinite articles (un, una)

Singular demonstratives (questo, questa)

Basic verbal negation (non)

Yes/No questions

Coordinating conjunctions (e, ma, o)

Regular plurals and definite articles (-i, -e, i, le)

Plural verb to be (noi siamo, voi siete)

Plural demonstratives (questi, queste)

Nouns ending in -e

Special singular articles (lo, l')

The plural article (gli)

Special indefinite articles (uno, un')

Demonstrative adjectives (quello, quella)

Adjective endings (-o, -a, -i, -e)

Expressing quantity (molto, poco, tanto)

The verb to have (ho, hai, ha...)

There is / there are (c'è, ci sono)

The preposition of (di)

Singular possessives (il mio, la mia)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, due, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (undici, dodici...)

Numbers 21 to 100 (trenta, quaranta...)

Idiomatic avere (avere fame, avere anni)

Plural possessive adjectives (i miei, le mie)

Possessives with family members (mio padre)

Formal address (dare del Lei)

Present tense of -are verbs (-o, -i, -a)

Question words (chi, cosa, dove)

Present tense of -ere verbs (-o, -i, -e)

Question words (quando, come, perché)

Question word agreement (quanto, quanta, quanti, quante)

Regular -ire verbs

Verbs with -isc- (capisco, capisci, capisce)

Pronouns after prepositions (me, te, lui)

The verb fare (faccio, fai, fa)

The verb andare (vado, vai, va)

The verb stare (sto, stai, sta)

The verb venire (vengo, vieni, viene)

The verb uscire (esco, esci, esce)

Location and destination (a, in)

Origin and movement (da)

Articulated prepositions with a (al, alla)

Articulated prepositions with in (nel, nella)

Articulated prepositions with di and da (del, dal)

Simple prepositions (con, per, su, tra)

Articulated prepositions with su (sul, sulla)

Months of the year

Telling time (sono le...)

Dates (il + number)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primo, secondo, terzo...)

The verb to want (volere)

The verb can (potere)

The verb must (dovere)

The verb to know (sapere)

Reflexive verbs (mi lavo, ti lavi)

Indirect object pronouns (gli, le, ci...)

Expressing preferences (mi piace)

Plural preferences (mi piacciono)

Comparatives (più... di, meno... di)

The passato prossimo with avere (ho parlato)

Irregular past participles (fatto, letto, preso)

The passato prossimo with essere (sono andato)

Reflexive verbs in the past (mi sono svegliato)

Time adverbs with the past tense (già, mai, ancora)

Third-person direct object pronouns (lo, la, li, le)

First and second-person direct object pronouns (mi, ti, ci, vi)

The four seasons

Prepositions of place (vicino a, davanti a)

Conversational words (beh, allora, davvero)

Indefinite adjectives for some (qualche, alcuni)

Indefinite adjectives for every and all (ogni, tutti)

Indefinite pronouns (qualcosa, qualcuno)

Noun suffixes (-ino, -one)

Adverbs of manner (-mente)

Comparisons of equality (così... come)

The relative superlative (il più)

The absolute superlative (-issimo)

Irregular comparatives (migliore, peggiore)

Present progressive (stare + -ando, -endo)

Imminent actions (stare per)

The locative pronoun (ci)

The partitive pronoun (ne)

Pronoun placement with modal verbs

Impersonal subjects (si)

Prepositions of time (da, per, tra, fra)

Past participle agreement with pronouns

Question	Answer
the delicatessen	la salumeria
some (partitive article; also dell', dei, degli, delle)	dello
I went into the new delicatessen to buy some food.	Sono andato nella nuova salumeria per comprare del cibo.
the mortadella	la mortadella
In this delicatessen they sell some excellent mortadella.	In questa salumeria vendono dell'ottima mortadella.
the 100 grams (m)	l'etto
the turkey	il tacchino
I'll take three hectograms of turkey and some bread.	Prendo tre etti di tacchino e del pane.
I was about to order some mortadella, but I chose some turkey.	Ero sul punto di ordinare della mortadella, ma ho scelto del tacchino.
to slice	affettare
While you slice the turkey, can you also give me some sparkling wine?	Mentre affetta il tacchino, mi dà anche dello spumante?
the pecorino cheese	il pecorino
aged (matured)	stagionato
While you finish slicing, do you have some vinegar for this aged pecorino?	Mentre finisce di affettare, ha dell'aceto per questo pecorino stagionato?
I would like some tomatoes, some olives, and some spaghetti.	Vorrei dei pomodori, delle olive e degli spaghetti.
to wrap (up)	incartare
I'll start wrapping it, or do you also want some aged pecorino?	Lo inizio a incartare, o vuole anche del pecorino stagionato?
vacuum-packed	sottovuoto
Can you wrap some vacuum-packed salami and some potato chips for me?	Mi incarta del salame sottovuoto e delle patatine?
Do you prefer some fresh prosciutto or some vacuum-packed prosciutto?	Preferisce del prosciutto fresco o del prosciutto sottovuoto?
While preparing the sandwich, I added some pecorino.	Nel preparare il panino, ho aggiunto del pecorino.
I am taking some mortadella and a hectogram of pecorino.	Prendo della mortadella e un etto di pecorino.

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