Learn Italian: Non ne abbiamo abbastanza, ci vogliono due kimono a settimana. - We don't have enough of them; you need two kimonos a week.

Non ne abbiamo abbastanza, ci vogliono due kimono a settimana.

We don't have enough of them; you need two kimonos a week.

Breakdown of Non ne abbiamo abbastanza, ci vogliono due kimono a settimana.

Questions & Answers about Non ne abbiamo abbastanza, ci vogliono due kimono a settimana.

Why do we use ci vogliono here instead of abbiamo bisogno di?

The verb volerci expresses general, objective necessity—stating what "is required" or what "it takes" in a given situation. If we used abbiamo bisogno di, it would focus on a personal lack ("we need"), whereas ci vogliono simply states the objective rule or fact that the situation demands two kimonos.

Why is ci vogliono conjugated in the plural form?

With the verb volerci, the thing that is needed is actually the grammatical subject of the sentence. Since the required items are due kimono (plural), the verb must be plural to agree with it: ci vogliono. If you only needed one, it would be singular: ci vuole un kimono.

What exactly is the role of ne in the first half of the sentence?

The pronoun ne replaces the phrase "of them" or "of it." In Italian, whenever you express a quantity (like abbastanza, meaning "enough") but omit the noun you are measuring, you must use ne to represent that noun. The clause literally translates to "We don't have enough of them."

Why doesn't the word kimono change its ending to match the plural number due?