Question 1

Why is there a di before squisiti and pessimi?

Accepted Answer

This di is required when you use ne (meaning some of them) with an adjective. Because ne replaces the noun (piatti), Italian uses di + plural adjective to mean some [adjective] ones — in this case, some delicious ones and some terrible ones.

Question 2

Why does the past participle mangiati end in -i instead of -o if it uses the auxiliary verb avere?

Accepted Answer

Normally, past participles with avere do not change their endings. However, when you use the partitive pronoun ne, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the noun ne replaces. Since ne stands for piatti (masculine plural), mangiato changes to mangiati.

Question 3

Could I drop the di and just say ne ho mangiati squisiti?

Accepted Answer

No, that would be grammatically incorrect. Whenever ne replaces a noun and is modified by a standalone adjective to describe a portion of that noun, you must place di before the adjective.

Question 4

Why use ne here instead of a direct object pronoun like li?

Accepted Answer

If you used li (li ho mangiati), it would mean you ate all of them. The pronoun ne acts as a partitive here, meaning some of them. It allows you to specify a sub-group from the many dishes you tried: some delicious ones and some terrible ones.

Al ristorante ho provato molti piatti; ne ho mangiati di squisiti, ma anche di pessimi.

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