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Italian Grammar Bank
ITALIAN INDEFINITIVE ADJECTIVES
After having studied in detail the possessive adjectives in Italian, the time has indeed come to study the indefinite adjectives!
There are many of them, but maybe you have already heard the most common ones.
TYPES OF INDEFINITE ADJECTIVES
Within the group of determinative adjectives, indefinite adjectives perform the function of indicating a quantity or quality possessed by the noun to which they refer in a generic or imprecise way.
This is a group of adjectives that, like the analogous indefinite pronouns, is very large and can be divided into reference groups:
– Indefinite adjectives that indicate an indeterminate totality, such as tutto, nessuno, alcuno.
– Indefinite adjectives that indicate an indeterminate quantity, such as poco, alquanto, vario, diverso, parecchio, tanto, altrettanto, molto, troppo, più, meno.
– Indefinite adjectives that indicate an indefinite unit or multiplicity, such as ogni, qualche, ciascuno, certo, tale.· Indefinite adjectives that indicate an indeterminate quality, such as qualunque, qualsiasi, qualsivoglia.
PATTERN
Indefinite Adjective + Noun + Verb
| Abbiamo avuto molti riscontri positivi | We had a lot of positive feedback. |
| La zia guarda troppa televisione | The aunt watches too much television. |
| La commissione ha proposto diverse modifiche al piano regolatore | The commission proposed several changes to the master plan. |
| Ciascun relatore ha espresso il proprio parere sulla tesi di Pietro | Each speaker expressed his or her opinion on Pietro’s thesis. |
FOR SINGLE QUANTITY
| POCO | Indicates a small quantity |
Quando ho poco tempo, cucino un piatto veloce
When I have little time, I cook a quick dish |
| PARECCHIO, VARIO | Indicate a larger quantity than “poco” and smaller than “molto” |
Ho provato parecchi ristoranti, ma il vostro è sicuramente il migliore!
I have tried several restaurants, but yours is definitely the best! |
| MOLTO | Indicates a large quantity |
Quando ho molto tempo, preparo piatti complessi
When I have a lot of time, I prepare complex dishes |
| TANTO | Indicates, just like “molto”, a large quantity |
Quando ho tanto tempo libero, mi piace rilassarmi
When I have a lot of free time, I like to relax |
| TROPPO | Indicates an excessive quantity, higher than normal |
In questo periodo ho troppe cose da fare e sono molto nervosa
I have too many things to do at the moment and I’m very nervous |
PART OF A WHOLE
| QUALCHE | Means “a certain number of” (“un certo numero di”) and is always followed by a singular noun, even if it refers to more than one thing! |
Roberto mangia sempre qualche biscotto prima di cenare
Roberto always eats some biscuits before dinner. |
| ALCUNO | In the singular it is used only in negative sentences, as a synonym of “nessuno”. In the plural, however, it means “a little bit of” (“un po’ di”), that is to say a not very large number. |
Non ho alcuna voglia di studiare oggi!
I don’t feel like studying today! |
| CERTO | Means “qualche”, “tale” (such) and must be placed before the noun! If placed after, however, it takes on a completely different meaning, that of (“certain”) “sicuro”. |
Devo darti certi libri che mi hai prestato il mese scorso
I have to give you some books you lent me last month. |
| ALTRO | Means “ulteriore” (“further”) |
Non ho voglia di un’altra fetta di pizza
I don’t feel like another slice of pizza. |
A TOTALITY
| TUTTO | Indicates the totality in a general sense. |
Non mangiare tutta la torta!
(→ always followed by an article!) Don’t eat all the cake. |
| OGNI | Indicates a totality of things or people but considered individually, taken individually. Therefore, it is always followed by the singular. |
Ogni adulto oggi possiede un cellulare
Every adult today owns a cell phone. |
| CIASCUNO | Synonymous with “ogni” and used in the same way. |
Ciascun candidato deve presentare il proprio curriculum
Each candidate must submit their CV. |
| QUALUNQUE, QUALSIASI | They consider each element of a whole as possible choices, “whichever one of these”. |
Mangia qualsiasi cosa abbia zucchero
Mangia qualunque cosa abbia zucchero Eat anything that has sugar in it. |
WORDS WITH NEGATIVE MEANING
At last, there are two indefinite adjectives that give a negative meaning to the sentence:
| ALCUNO | Only in the singular form. Used in sentences that already contain another negation to strengthen its meaning. |
Non ho alcuna voglia di studiare oggi!
I don’t feel like studying today. |
| NESSUNO | Can be used just like “alcuno” in sentences containing another negation. |
Non ho nessuna voglia di studiare oggi!
I don’t feel like studying today. |
BUT can also be used alone to give a negative meaning to the sentence, taking on the meaning of “not one” (“non uno”), “not even one” (“nemmeno uno”).
Example:
PECULIARITIES
Among the peculiarities of indefinite adjectives, it is certainly important to remember that they are distinguished between variable adjectives (which agree with the noun to which they refer) and invariable adjectives, which therefore have only one form.
To summarize:
Among the adjectives that are always invariable: ogni, qualche, qualunque, qualsiasi, qualsivoglia, più, meno.
Among the adjectives that vary only in gender but not in number: nessuno, ciascuno.
As you have seen, some adjectives can be used differently and take on a different meaning depending on the context in which they appear and depending on their use.
Alcuno
Alcuno in the singular is used in place of nessuno in sentences in which there is a negation and when the indefinite adjective follows the verb; in the plural, alcuni is equivalent to qualcosa.
Certo
Certo in the singular (preceded by the indefinite article un: “Un certo tizio ti cercava al telefono” – A certain guy was looking for you on the phone.) indicates a person whose identity is not further indicated or an unspecified quality (“Una persona di un certo stile” – A person of a certain style).
Altro
Altro has different shades of meaning, ranging from indicating:
– a difference: si è trasferito in un altro appartamento – he moved to another apartment
– a period of time in the past: L’altro anno ho viaggiato davvero molto – I traveled a lot last year
– or in the future: Quest’altro mese avremo molte scadenze urgenti – We’ll have a lot of urgent deadlines this month),
– a qualitative novelty: Mario è diventato un’altra persona – Mario has become a different person
– an addition to the previous one: Mi ha ripetuto un’altra volta la solita storia – He told me the same old story again
Alcuno, Ciascuno and Nessuno
Alcuno, Ciascuno and Nessuno in the masculine singular, they have two possible forms, depending on the first letter of the noun that follows:
Alcuno – Ciascuno – Nessuno are used, just like the article “uno”, before nouns that begin with z-, s + consonant, pn-, ps-, gn- (ciascuno psicologo, nessuno zaino…).
Alcun – Ciascun – Nessun are used, just like the article “un”, before nouns that begin with a vowel or consonant, excluding the previous cases (alcun dubbio, ciascun albero, nessun cane…).
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FAQs
What are indefinite adjectives in Italian?
Indefinite adjectives (aggettivi indefiniti) refer to nonspecific quantities or amounts, such as “some,” “many,” or “few.”
Examples include “qualche” (some), “molto” (many/a lot), and “poco” (few/little).
How do indefinite adjectives agree with nouns?
Indefinite adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify.
For instance, “molto” changes to “molta” for feminine singular (e.g., “molta acqua” – a lot of water) and “molti” or “molte” for masculine or feminine plural (e.g., “molti amici” – many friends).
What difference between “qualche” and “alcuni/e”?
“Qualche” is invariable and always followed by a singular noun but refers to a plural quantity (e.g., “qualche libro” – some books).
“Alcuni” (masculine plural) and “alcune” (feminine plural) directly modify plural nouns (e.g., “alcuni libri” – some books).
When do I use “poco” versus “un po’ di”?
“Poco” means “little” or “few” and is used with countable or uncountable nouns (e.g., “poca gente” – few people).
“Un po’ di” means “a bit of” and is used with uncountable nouns to express an indefinite small amount (e.g., “un po’ di zucchero” – a bit of sugar).
Can indefinite adjectives be used without a noun?
Yes, in some cases, indefinite adjectives can stand alone when the noun is implied by context.
For example, “Alcuni sono già qui” (Some are already here) leaves out the noun but assumes the listener knows what is being referred to.
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