The Italian pronoun NE

Direct and indirect pronouns are not the only pronouns we use in the italian language. Today we will study the pronominal particle NE, that has several funtions and meaning, and that is considered by many foreign students one of the most difficult Italian pronoun.

Let's start to see the first use of this particle. Unlike direct pronouns, NE is used to replace a noun represented by a quantity. But what is exactly a quantity?  

Quantities can be:

• numbers: uno, due, tre, quattro, cinque...

• units of measure: un chilo, due chili, 100 grammi, tre etti...

• other expressions of quantity: poco, tanto, molti, pochi, nessuno, ecc. Remember that tutto, tutta, tutti and tutte are not considered quantities.

Examples:

• Ho tanti amici in Italia, ma ne ho solo due in Francia. (I have many friends in Italy, but I only have two in France)

• Quanti caffè bevi al giorno? Ne bevo quattro. (How many coffees do you drink per day? I drink four)

• Io ho due gatti, ma mia sorella non ne ha nessuno. (I have two cats, but my sister has none)

• Hai letto qualche libro questo mese? Ne ho letto uno. (Have you read any books this month? I read one)

Another way of using NE is to replace preposition di or da + something or someone mentioned before with the meaning of: about / from this, it, him, her, them, etc.

Examples:

• Quando possiamo parlare delle vacanze? Se vuoi, ne possiamo parlare dopo cena. (When can we talk about vacations? If you want, we can talk about it after dinner)

• Ti piace la tua nuova coinquilina? Che cosa ne pensi? (Do you like your new roommate? What do you think about her?)

Another way to use NE is to express a date.

• Quanti ne abbiamo oggi? Ne abbiamo 20. (What date is it today? It's the twentieth)

Let's see how to place this pronoun in a sentence. Like all other Italian pronouns, also the pronominal particle NE must be put before the verb, except when the verb is in the infinitive form (-ARE, -ERE, -IRE), imperative or gerund.

• Che bei biscotti!! Posso assaggiarne uno? Assaggiane tanti, se vuoi. (What beautiful cookies!! Can I try one? Try as many as you like)

Remember that if you use NE together with “passato prossimo”, you must always agree in number and gender the past participle  with the noun you are replacing with NE.

• Quante mele hai comprato? Ne ho comprate un chilo. (How many apples did you buy? I bought a kilo)

• Quanti gelati hai mangiato questa settimana? Ne ho mangiati troppi. (How many ice-creams did you eat this week? I ate too many)