Learn Italian: In quel reparto non ci sono più scatoloni, ma qui ce ne sono alcuni. - In that department there are no more large boxes, but here there are some of them.

Word

In quel reparto non ci sono più scatoloni, ma qui ce ne sono alcuni.

Meaning

In that department there are no more large boxes, but here there are some of them.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Italian

Lesson

Combined clitics (ce ne)

Breakdown of In quel reparto non ci sono più scatoloni, ma qui ce ne sono alcuni.

Questions & Answers about In quel reparto non ci sono più scatoloni, ma qui ce ne sono alcuni.

Why does the sentence use ce ne sono instead of just ci sono?

ci sono means "there are". However, because we want to say "there are some of them", we need to add the partitive pronoun ne ("of them"). When the word ci comes right before ne, its vowel changes to make it easier to pronounce, becoming ce ne.

What exactly is ne replacing here?

It replaces di scatoloni (of the large boxes). Rather than repeating the noun and saying ci sono alcuni scatoloni (there are some large boxes), we use ne to concisely say "there are some of them".

Why is the word for "boxes" scatoloni instead of the usual scatole?

It uses the suffix -one, which implies something is extra large. While a standard box is la scatola (feminine), adding the suffix changes it to a large box or carton, lo scatolone. Notice that the noun also changes from feminine to masculine when this suffix is added!

Why do we need the word alcuni at the end of the sentence?

When you use ne to mean "of them" in an affirmative sentence, you usually need to specify a quantity. alcuni provides that quantity, meaning "some" or "a few". Because it refers back to scatoloni, it takes the masculine plural form to match.