2 The pronoun ne is invariable, and can thus replace any noun, whether
masculine, feminine, singular or plural:
3 As we have seen, ne is used when referring to partial quantities, however
expressed. Some expressions which require the use of ne are the adverb
abbastanza (enough/quite), the adjectives molto, poco, troppo, alcuni/alcune
(some/any (plural) ), and the pronoun qualcuno/qualcuna (some/any), which is
always singular:
4 Ne is also used in negative expressions such as non... affatto (not... at
all), non... nessuno/nessuna (not... anyone), non... più (not... any more):
‘Quanti panini vuoi?’ ‘Ne voglio
uno.’
‘Quanti panini vuoi?’ ‘Li voglio
tutti.’
‘Quante arance hai mangiato?’ ‘Ne
ho mangiate due.’
‘Quante arance hai mangiato?’ ‘Le
ho mangiate tutte.’‘How many sandwiches do you want?’
‘I want one (of them).’
‘How many sandwiches do you want?’
‘I want them all/all of them.’
‘How many oranges did you eat?’ ‘I ate
two (of them).’
‘How many oranges did you eat?’ ‘I ate
them all/all of them.’‘Quanto zucchero [ms] compri?’
‘Ne compro due chili.’
‘Quanta farina [fs] compri?’ ‘Ne
compro solo mezzo chilo.’
‘Quanti amici [mp] inviti?’ ‘Ne
invito tre.’
‘Quante mele [fp] vuoi?’ ‘Ne voglio
tre chili.’‘How much sugar are you buying?’
‘I’m getting two kilos.’
‘How much flour are you going to
get?’ ‘I’m only getting half a kilo.’
‘How many friends are you inviting?’
‘I’m inviting three.’
‘How many apples do you want?’ ‘I
want three kilos.’Non ho comprato del pane perché ne
ho ancora abbastanza.
‘Hai molti CD?’ ‘Sì, ne ho molti.’‘Hai tutti i libri che ti servono?’ ‘No,
ne ho solo alcuni.’
Quei biscotti sono molto buoni, ne
prendo ancora qualcuno.I didn’t buy any bread because I’ve
still got enough.
‘Have you got many CDs?’ ‘Ye s , I’ve
got a lot.’
‘Have you got all the books you
need?’ ‘No, I’ve only got a few.’
Those biscuits are very good, I’ll have
some more.‘Bevi molto caffè?’ ‘No, non ne bevo
affatto.’
Ho invitato dieci amici, ma non ne
è venuto nessuno.‘Do you drink much coffee?’ ‘No, I
don’t drink it at all.’
I invited ten friends, but none of them
came.