How to Say “Some” in Italian

How do you express a quantity that’s uncertain or approximate?  If you need to buy SOME  pane  and a BIT of  vino, here you will find an easy explanation on how to appropriately use larticolo partitivo in Italian.   The partitive article appears before singular nouns like  del miele, del caffà ¨, del burro (some honey, some coffee, some butter)  as well as before plural nouns of an unspecified amount  dei libri, delle ragazze, degli studenti (some books, some girls, some students).​   In the simplest terms, it can be defined as meaning some, but you may also use it to mean any or even a few when it is meant to be a rough estimate. The partitive is expressed by the Italian preposition di,  which typically means of or from, combined with the definite article, like il or le. For example: Lo ho delle cravatte blu.  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  I have a few blue ties.Lei beve del caffà ¨. –  She is drinking some coffee.Lo esco con dei compagni. –  I go out with some friends.Lui vuole del burro. –  He would like some butter.Noi abbiamo soltanto della zuppa e un paio di cornetti. –  We only have some soup and a couple of croissants. Italian Partitive Articles   Singulare Plurale Femminile della delle Femminile (before a vowel) dell delle Maschile del dei Maschile (before a vowel) dell degli Maschile (before the letters z, x +consonant, and gn) dello degli A Little Bit Of: Un po’ Di However, using a form of the preposition di as the partitive article isn’t the only way to express an imprecise amount. You can also use the expression un po’ di, which translates to a bit of, a little bit of. For example: Vuoi un po’ di zucchero? –  Do you want a bit of sugar?Vorrei un po’ di vino rosso. –  I would like a little  bit of red wine.Aggiungi un po’ di sale e di pepe! –  Add a little bit of salt and pepper!Me ne sono andato perchà © volevo un po’ di pace. –  I left because I wanted a bit of peace.Avete dei cibi senza glutine? –  Do you have food without gluten?Mi serve un po’ d’acqua per favore? –  Could I have  a bit of water please? When to Use the Partitive Article Di vs. Un Po’ Di   Imagine this scenario. You walk into a panificio  because you need  del pane (some bread) and you tell the fornaio: Vorrei un po’ di pane toscano. –  I would like a bit of Tuscan bread. Do you see the difference there? Del pane is a more general way to say what you want, and you use un po di’ when you want to be more specific. Heres another example, lets think you are going to buy del basilico (some basil): Voglio comprare un po di basilico  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ I want to buy a bit of basil. For a richer, more organic use of the language, you could, instead of using a partitive article or the phrase un po’ di,  use an indefinite pronoun, and practice making sentences with alcuni (some), as in alcuni ragazzi  (some boys, a few boys) or qualche, as in qualche piatto (some dish).