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L'imballaggio è insufficiente, ce ne serve urgentemente altro.

L'imballaggio è insufficiente, ce ne serve urgentemente altro.
The packaging is insufficient, we urgently need more of it.
From Lesson 385:Verbs of necessity and lack (mancare, servire, bastare)·Italian

Questions & Answers about L'imballaggio è insufficiente, ce ne serve urgentemente altro.

Why is the verb serve (it is needed) rather than a form meaning 'we need'?
The verb servire works like piacere. The thing needed is the grammatical subject, and the person who needs it is the indirect object. In this sentence, the subject is the singular pronoun altro (more), so the verb is the third-person singular serve. The 'we' is expressed by the indirect object pronoun ce (to us).
Why is the pronoun ce used instead of ci for 'to us'?
When the indirect object pronoun ci (to us) is placed immediately before the pronoun ne (of it), it changes its vowel to become ce. This makes the combination ce ne easier to pronounce.
Does altro always mean 'more' rather than 'other'?
Not always, but when altro is used alongside the partitive pronoun ne (of it or some), it routinely translates to 'more' or 'an additional amount'. Literally, ce ne serve ... altro means 'another amount of it is needed to us'.
How would this sentence change if we needed more 'boxes' (scatole, feminine plural) instead of 'packaging'?
Because servire agrees with the thing needed, both the verb and the pronoun altro would change to match the feminine plural noun scatole. You would say ce ne servono urgentemente altre.

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