Learn Italian: Aggiungo alcune cipolle alla mia lista.

Aggiungo alcune cipolle alla mia lista.

I add some onions to my list.

Breakdown of Aggiungo alcune cipolle alla mia lista.

mio

alla

to the / at the (feminine singular)

alcuno

some / a few (alcuni, alcune)

la cipolla

the onion

Questions & Answers about Aggiungo alcune cipolle alla mia lista.

Why use alcune cipolle instead of qualche cipolle?

Qualche means "some" but is always followed by a singular noun. If you wanted to use it here, you would have to say qualche cipolla. Because cipolle (onions) is plural, we must use the plural word for "some," which is alcune.

Why is it alcune and not alcuni?

Alcuni changes its ending to match the gender of the noun. Because cipolla is a feminine noun, its plural form requires the feminine plural adjective alcune. If you were adding a masculine plural noun, you would use alcuni.

What verb does aggiungo come from?

It comes from aggiungere (to add). Notice the pronunciation change: the g in aggiungere has a soft sound (like in "gem"), but in aggiungo, the g before the o makes a hard sound (like in "go").

Why does the sentence say alla mia lista instead of just a mia lista?

In Italian, you almost always need a definite article (the) before a possessive adjective like mia. The preposition a (to) combines with the article la (the) to create the combined word alla. It literally translates to "to the my list."