The Italian pronoun NE

I have already explained direct and indirect pronouns, but these are not the only pronouns in the Italian language. Today we will study the pronominal particle “NE” that we use a lot in our language and that, having several functions and meaning, it 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, we have already talked about. 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 much coffee do you drink a 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?

• Quando vai via da Milano? Me ne vado tra un mese. = When are you leaving Milan? I am leaving in a month

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 now 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 (-ARE, -ERE, -IRE), imperative or gerund. In these cases NE must be placed after the verb and attached to it.

• 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 the past participle in number and gender 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