The Partitive: Il partitivo

The partitive in English can be some, any, a few.

In Italian, there are a number of different options for expressing the partitive. Following is a list which details the different ways you have at your disposal.

1. You can combine the preposition di with a definite article to mean some. When using this partitive, you must follow the same rules you follow when using definite articles. Following is a chart demonstrating how di combines with each article.
   
   

   di + il	del
   di + la	della
   di +lo	dello
   di + l’	dell’
   di + gli	degli
   di + i	dei
   di + le	delle

   
   

   Ho mangiato delle mele e delle pere. I ate some apples and some pears. Ci sono degli studenti in aula. There are some students in the classroom. Conosco della gente straniera. I know some foreign people.