partitivo

Partitivo refers to a grammatical device used in several languages to express an indefinite quantity or a part of a whole. In many Romance languages, the partitive helps indicate that only a portion of something is meant rather than the whole item. The term is most commonly discussed in Italian grammar as the art

icolo partitivo, and is also present in French and other languages with different realizations.

In Italian, the partitive is formed by combining di with the definite article, producing del, dello, della, dei, delle, or dell’ before vowels. This construction is used with uncountable (mass) nouns to denote a portion or unspecified amount, as in del pane (some bread), dell’acqua (some water), del vino (some wine). It is also used with plural count nouns to refer to some members of a larger group, for example, dei libri (some books), delle persone (some people). For emphasis or approximation, speakers may also use un po’ di, as in un po’ di pane or un po’ di latte.

Usage notes include the distinction between the partitive and the indefinite article. The partitive signals quantity within a subset or portion, whereas the standard indefinite article (un, una) typically refers to whole items. In contexts where the quantity is easily measurable, un po’ di or quantifier expressions may be preferred. The partitive can be replaced by other quantifiers such as alcuni/alcune (some), dei/ delle can carry a sense of “some of.”

Across languages, the concept is broader: French uses the separate partitive articles du, de la, des; other languages have analogous forms or cases to mark partial quantities. See also Articolo partitivo, Partitive case.