uncountable nouns

Question 1

When talking about non-specific quantities, uncountable nouns usually follow a partitive article (della carne, del formaggio, dell’acqua). If we want to talk about a specific quantity of an uncountable noun, we use units of measurement or other nouns followed by the preposition “di”. Have a look at the examples below:

Answer 1

del latte (some milk) - un litro di latte (one litre of milk) - una bottiglia di latte (a bottle of milk).

della farina (some flour) - mezzo chilo di farina (half a kilo of flour) - un pacco di farina (a packet of flour)

Question 2

Uncountable nouns are always singular, while countable nouns have a singular and a plural form. Be careful, though! Some nouns can be countable or uncountable depending on the context. Have a look at the example below:

Answer 2

Countable: Mi porta tre caffè per favore? (Can I have three coffees, please?

Uncountable: Devo comprare del caffè. (I need to buy some coffee.

Question 3

Partitive articles indicate a non-specific quantity (some) of an uncountable noun.

Answer 3

della birra (some beer)
dello zucchero (some sugar)
dell'acqua (some water)
del pane (some bread)

Question 4

We form partitive articles in exactly the same way: we combine the preposition “di” with the definite article. For uncountable nouns, we only use the singular forms

Answer 4

blank

Question 5

di + il

Answer 5

del

Question 6

di + lo

Answer 6

dello

Question 7

di + la

Answer 7

della

Question 8

di + l’

Answer 8

dell’