L’articolo partitivo / The partitive article.

The partitive article (formed by the preposition Di = the definite article) indicates a not well-determinate part of a large whole.

	Maschile	Femminile
Singolare	Del Dell’ Dello	Della Dell’
Plurale	Dei Degli	Delle

Uses of the forms of the partitive article.

Del

Before masculine nouns that begin with a consonant. The plural of Del is Dei.

• Del gelato (Some ice cream).
• Del vino (Some wine).
• Del latte (Some milk).
• Del pane (Some bread).
• Dei soldati (Some soldiers).

Della

Before feminine nouns that begin with a consonant. The plural of Della is Delle.

• Della marmellata (Some jam).
• Della pasta (Some pasta).
• Delle patate (Some potatoes).

Dello

Before nouns that begin with a (s + consonant, z, x,pn, gn,ps,y). The plural of Dello is Degli.

• Dello zucchero (Some sugar).
• Dello spago (Some string).
• Degli gnomi (Some gnomes).

Dell’

Before nouns that begin with a vowel. The plural of the masculine Dell’ is Degli and the feminine Dell’ is Delle.

• Dell’inchiostro (Some ink). (m)
• Degli attori (Some actors). (m)
• Degli occhi (Some eyes). (m)
• Dell’acqua (Some water). (f)
• Dell’uva (Some grapes). (f)
• Delle arie (Some arias). (f)

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