Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Say “Some” in Italian
with “Qualche” and “Alcuni”
To speak fluently in another language, it is important to know how to describe a group of things in a general way. When describing a part of a whole, or an undetermined number of things, we are using the partitive. This idea is rendered in English with the words “some” or “any,” as in “some of the” or “any of the.”
Let’s continue to talk about the ways Italians say, “some” by focusing on how to use the adjectives qualche and alcuni in essential, every day phrases to describe a group of things that can be counted.
Qualche is considered a more formal way to say “some” than the construction [di + Italian definite article], and alcune/alcuni a bit more formal than qualche. In some cases, the methods are interchangeable, but not in every case!
As an incidental note, the partitive can be thought of as the plural form of the indefinite article “a” — which, as you may recall, in Italian is “un, uno, una, or un’.
When to Use “Qualche”
to Say “Some”
The adjective qualche broadly means “some.” But, as discussed in the introduction, and in the first blog in this series, “How to Say ‘Some’ (Part 1)” there are other ways to say “some” in Italian. This leads to the question, “How does an Italian decide when to use qualche?”
The decision to use qualche is based on whether the people or things in the group that is being talked about can be counted or not. Is the group of items easily divisible, such as a basket that contains apples, or bread that has been sliced? Or maybe a small group of office workers has come together for a meeting? Then qualche can be used to modify these groups by referring to “some” of the whole.
However, qualche cannot be used if speaking about “some” of a substance that cannot be easily divided and cannot be counted, such as a bucket of water or a bowl of sugar crystals. For our last example regarding gatherings of people: qualche cannot be used to refer to a group of people if the actual number can only be estimated, either due to the large size of the group or possibly if the location of the gathering precludes counting. In these types of situations, qualche cannot be used as a modifier.
In short, if the number of items can be counted, qualche can be used as a modifier. This differs from the [di + definite article] construction and “un po’ di,” both which work with any group, whether the items can be counted or not. In summary:
Qualche is used only with
groups of countable items.
In addition, qualche is most often used when referring to a small amount of something. This is reflected in its more specific definitions; qualche can also mean “a few” or “any” when referring to people or things. Qualche can also replace, “un po’ di,” which means “a little of,” but, once again, only if the group in question has items that can be counted.
How to Use “Qualche”
to Say “Some”
The description in the last section seems simple enough — use qualche to modify an Italian noun if focusing on only on a small part of a countable group. Also, despite the fact that qualche is an adjective, its ending is invariable, which would imply that qualche is easy to use. But a particular Italian rule of grammar must be followed when using qualche that does not correspond to the English way of thinking and may be a bit difficult for the English speaker to become accustomed to.
When Italians use qualche to modify an Italian noun, that Italian noun must be in the singular form — even though the noun itself refers to a group of many things. Of course, if one were refer only to the group, instead of its parts, the Italian noun would have a plural ending. (We English speakers spend a lot of time and effort learning how to change masculine and feminine nouns into the plural!) But when qualche is placed before any noun that describes a group, the ending of the that noun reverts to the singular.
In fact, nouns without a singular and plural ending cannot be used with qualche. For instance, it is possible to say, “qualche persona,” to mean “some people,” since the plural of persona is persone; it is not possible to use the phrase “qualche gente,” to say “some people,” since the noun gente is invariable; the ending does not change in the plural. Keep in mind that many other Italian nouns are invariable, as are foreign nouns used by Italian speakers.
This peculiarity of Italian cannot be translated directly into English, which retains the plural ending of the nouns that describe a group. Just put “some,” “any” or “a little bit” in front of an English plural noun to modify the group you are talking about.
Why go through all the trouble to learn how to use qualche? If you are not good at remembering rules, or if is seems strange to you to use a singular noun when in your head the English noun is in the plural, just remember these essential Italian phrases when qualche comes into play:
| qualche volta | sometimes |
| da qualche parte | somewhere |
| in qualche modo | in some way somehow |
| da qualche tempo | for some time now since some time ago |
| qualche tempo fa | some time ago |
| qualche giorno qualche mese qualche anno |
some days some months some years |
| Dopo qualche giorno, mese, anno… |
After a few days, months, years… |
| qualche anno | some years |
| da qualche anno | for a few years now since a few years ago |
| qualche anno fa | a few years ago a couple of years ago some years ago |
| tra qualche ora | in a few hours |
| qualche amico/a | some friends a few friends |
| qualche persona | some people a few people |
Let’s go back to the first blog in this series, and try to apply qualche while dining. Notice that in order to use qualche for indivisible quantities, one must change the quantity into a divisible one — slices of bread, glasses of water, or bottles of sparkling wine, for instance — and the Italian noun for the container must be in the singular. The English noun is translated in the plural. Using qualche implies you only want a small quantity, or “a few” of the item in question. The following examples using [di + Italian definite article] have been reprinted below:
Vorrei del pane. I would like some bread.
Vorrei qualche fetta di pane. I would some slices (a few slices) of bread.
Vorrei d’acqua.
I would like some water.
Vorrei qualche bicchiere d’acqua per la tavola.
I would like some glasses (a few glasses) of water for the table.
Vorrei dello spumante.
I would like some sparkling wine.
Vorrei qualche bottiglia di spumante per i miei amici.
I would like a few bottles of sparkling wine for my friends.
Notice that, in some cases, it really doesn’t make sense to use qualche, even if the quantity can be contained and then divided. For instance, we generally don’t ask for “some bowls of soup,” but instead refill the same bowl with “some soup.” The same goes for the examples in the prior blog for piselli (peas), lasagne (lasagna noodle casserole), and degli spaghetti (spaghetti). These examples are reprinted below without an additional example sentence that uses qualche.
Vorrei della minestra. I would like some soup.
Vorrei dei piselli. I would like some (of the) peas.
Vorrei delle lasagne. I would like some (of the) lasagna.
Vorrei degli spaghetti. I would like some (of the) spaghetti.
Use “Un Qualche”
to Say “A Certain”
Another important use for qualche is as a part of the phrase “un qualche,” which means “a certain.” In effect, placing an indefinite article before qualche changes the meaning of this adjective.
For instance:
Stamattina, ho incontrato un qualche tipo di persona; Maria è bella, intelligente, e divertente.
This morning I met a certain type of person; Maria is beautiful, intelligent and fun to be with.
Mi serve un qualche pezzo per aggiustare questa macchina vecchia, ma non l’ho ancora trovato.
I need a certain part to fix this old car but I haven’t found it yet.
When to Use “Alcuni/Alcune”
to Say “Some”
The decision to use the masculine plural adjective alcuni, or its feminine equivalent alcune, is based on whether the people or things in the group that under discussion can be counted or not. Just like with qualche, if the items in the group can be counted, alcuni/alcune can be placed before the noun to modify it.
In short, if the number of items can be counted, alcuni/alcune can be used. This differs from the [di + definite article] construction and “un po’ di,” both which work with any group, whether the items can be counted or not. In summary:
Alcune/Alcune are used only with
groups of countable items.
How to Use “Alcuni/Alcune”
to Say “Some”
The main difference between qualche and alcuni/alcune is the noun that is modified. Alcuni is used with masculine nouns, which must be made plural to correspond to the adjective. Alcune modifies feminine nouns in the plural. This makes more sense to the English ear, as the noun describing the group remains in the plural for alcuni and alcune.
The rules discussed for the type of group that can be modified by qualche apply to acluni/alcune.
Alcuni/alcune, like qualche, mean not only “some” but also “any.” These adjectives are also used to describe an imprecise amount of a group of things or people. Although the meaning is similar to qualche, alcuni/alcune cannot be used as a substitute for qualche in most of the common Italian phrases listed in the previous section. As noted previously, qualche is considered a more formal way to say “some” than the construction [di + definite article], and alcune/alcuni a bit more formal than qualche.
A few ways you may hear alcuni used in every day Italian:
| alcuni amici alcune amiche |
some friends |
| alcune persone | some people |
| in alcuni casi | in some cases |
| alcuni motivi | some reasons |
| alcuni dei quali | some of whom |
Our previous examples from the dinner table, using [di + definite article] and qualche, with the addition of alcuni/alcune. Notice that alcuni and alcune match the Italian nouns they modify in gender and number, as usual for Italian!
Vorrei del pane. I would like some bread.
Vorrei qualche fetta di pane. I would some slices (a few slices) of bread.
Vorrei alcune fette di pane. I would some slices of bread.
Vorrei d’acqua.
I would like some water.
Vorrei qualche bicchiere d’acqua per la tavola.
I would like some glasses (a few glasses) of water for the table.
Vorrei alcuni bicchieri d’ acqua per la tavola.
I would like some glasses (a few glasses) of water for the table.
Vorrei dello spumante.
I would like some sparkling white wine.
Vorrei qualche bottiglia di spumante per i miei amici.
I would like a few bottles of sparkling wine for my friends.
Vorrei alcune bottiglie di spumante per i miei amici.
I would like a few bottles of sparkling wine for my friends.
If you learn how to say “some” in Italian
with qualche and alcuni/alcune
I guarantee you will use these phrases
every day!
For “All the Italian you need to enjoy your trip to Italy,”® click on the links below to purchase my Conversational Italian for Travelers books – and then listen to the audiobook “Just the Important Phrases” on your favorite streaming platform! —Kathryn Occhipinti
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