GRAMMATICA
PRONOMI NE E CI
Pronome ne
The pronoun ne is essential in Italian, although there is no exact equivalent in English.
This partitive pronoun commonly answers the explicit or implicit question “How much/how many?” It behaves like a direct object pronoun, but it is used when talking about a quantity.
– Quante lingue parla Francesca? [How many languages does Francesca speak?]
– Ne parla tre: italiano, inglese e spagnolo. [She speaks three OF THEM: Italian, English, and Spanish.]
– Quanto tempo passi a studiare italiano? [How much time do you spend studying Italian?]
– Ne passo poco: una o due ore al giorno. [I do not spend a lot OF IT: one or two hours a day.]
While in English it is not necessary to say of them, in Italian it is necessary to use ne (which here means “of them”).
Remember:
- Ne means of it or of them.
- Most of the time, Ne answers the questions Quanto? Quanta? Quanti? Quante? (How much/How many?), whether the question is made explicit or just implied.
- Ne is usually followed by a quantity, for example a number or an amount
– Quanti anni hai? – Ne ho 19!
Di solito non bevo molti caffè, Ne bevo solamente uno la mattina.
– Conosci delle canzoni italiane? – No, non ne conosco nessuna.
Ne always goes before the conjugated verb (ne bevo uno, ne ho 19, non ne conosco). However, when it is used with a conjugated verb + an infinitive, it can either go before the conjugated verb or at to the end of the infinitive after dropping the last letter. See the examples:
– Hai già fatto gli esercizi di grammatica? – Sì, ma ne devo fare ancora un po’
– Sì, ma devo farne ancora un po’
With tutto/a/i/e the particle NE is not used and is instead replaced by the regular direct object pronouns (LO/LA/LI/LE).
- Quante pagine hai letto? – Le ho lette tutte.
When used in combination with a passato prossimo, ne behaves like other direct object pronouns, and changes the number and gender of the past participle:
- Quanti esercizi ha assegnato la professoressa oggi? – Ne ha assegnati cinque.
NOTA BENE
Ne is also used with many common verbs to mean “about it” rather than “of it”.
The verbs that use ne with this meaning are:
- pensare – cosa ne pensi? [What do you think about it?]
- dire – cosa ne dici? [What do you say about it?]
- sapere – cosa ne sai? [What do you know about it?]; non ne so niente ([I don’t know anything about it]
- parlare – loro parlano tanto di politica; ne parlano troppo! [they talk so much about politics; they talk about it too much!]
- importare – non me ne importa [I don’t care about it]; non me ne importa niente [I don’t care about it at all]
Pronome ci
The pronoun CI has different usages and meanings.
- The pronoun CI is used to replace the name of a place already mentioned. It means ‘there’ or ‘in/at/to a place’ that has already been mentioned.
In English, we do not necessarily need to say ‘there’; in Italian, we have to use CI.Sei mai andato a Napoli? Sì, ci sono andato l’anno scorso.
In this example, the pronoun ci stands for a Napoli.
- CI is used to substitute a word or phrase introduced by the prepositions a, su, in or con. In particular, it is used with verbs such as:
- Riuscire a (to manage to, to be able to) and provare a (to try to): Riesci a fare bene la raccolta differenziata? No, non ci riesco ma ci provo. CI stands for ‘a fare bene la raccolta differenziata.’
- Credere a/in (to believe in): Credi in Dio? Sì, ci credo
- Contare su (to count on): Puoi contare sull’aiuto del tuo amico Marco quando traslochi? Sì, ci posso contare. Lui è sempre molto disponibile.
- Con + a noun: Sei uscito con il tuo ragazzo ieri sera? No, ci esco domani. CI is used to substitute a word or phrase introduced by the prepositions a, su, in or con. In particular, it is used with verbs such as:
- In everyday speech, CI is often used when answering a question with the verb avere.
Hai i soldi per pagare l’affitto? Sì, ce li ho!
NOTA BENE
Ci always goes before the conjugated verb, i.e.: ci vado, ci sono andato, etc.
However, when there is a verb + an infinitive, it can go either before the conjugated verb or be attached to the end of the infinitive.
If it is attached to the end of the infinitive, you have to drop the last letter of the infinitive as in andare > andar.
Sei già andato a Roma?
No, ma ci voglio andare.
OR
No, ma voglio andarci.