Uncountable nouns
In Italian, uncountable nouns, like acqua (water), amore (love) or calore (heat), sometimes take a definite article (equivalent to “the”) and sometimes don't, depending on the context.
Ciro ascolta musica.
Ciro listens to music.
Adoro la musica elettronica.
I love electronic music.
We generally use the definite article Articoli determinativi when:
- Referring to something specific and previously identified:
Il burro è in frigo.
The butter is in the fridge.
- Making a generalization:
L’olio d’oliva fa molto bene alla salute.
Olive oil is very good for your health.
The definite article is not used in the following cases:
- When there is no specific object or quantity:
La pasta è insipida, dovevi aggiungerci sale.
The pasta is bland, you need to add salt.
- After words that express an indefinite quantity, like un po’ (a bit), molto (a lot), abbastanza (enough), etc.
C’è poca gente alla festa.
There are not many people at the party.
Note: uncountable nouns are more frequently used with partitive articles (equivalent to “some”) than definite articles in Italian.
Mi passi del burro?
Will you pass me some butter?
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