Ne is a chameleon of a pronoun that, depending on the context, can assume three main different meanings: “about someone or something,” “some/any of it,” or “from here/this place.”
If you’ve recently traveled to Italy, chances are you talked to a local who recommended you visit a beautiful museum that usually has a long line, or perhaps an amazing restaurant that has also an incredible waiting list, or even a remote, wild beach, hidden in the rocks which requires you to walk a lot to reach it. In whichever scenario, I’m sure that to convince you they used the following expression: Ne vale la pena! meaning It’s worth the effort!
In this post, we’ll dive into the main uses of this little gem of the Italian language, and, as a bonus, we’ll give you three more uses and a list of Italian expressions that use ne. Keep reading… NE VALE LA PENA! 😉
What are the three main uses of ‘ne’
Depending on the context, ne has three main uses:
to refer to “the stuff we just talked about”
Ho avuto un’ottima idea. Ne parliamo?Translation: I had an amazing idea. Can we talk about it?to mean “of it” or “of them” in a phrase like “some of it” or “none of them”
Ho comprato delle mele. Ne vuoi una?Translation: I bought some apples. Do you want one (of them)?to mean “from here” or “from there”
Me ne vado.Translation: I am leaving.Literally: I am going away from here.
Let’s go over those three facets of ne!
1. ‘Ne’ as “the stuff we just talked about”
When ne replaces a noun or verb preceded by di meaning of, it means “about someone” or “about something.” For example:
↓
Here are some examples of conversations using ne with this meaning:
Example 1:
- Ho mai parlato di Andrea, il mio amico dell’università?Translation: Have I ever talked about Andrea, my friend from college?
- Sì, ne hai parlato molte volte.Translation: Yes, you talked about him many times.
Example 2:
- Ti sei ricordata di contattare l’agenzia di viaggi?Translation: Did you remember to contact the travel agency?
- No, me ne sono completamente dimenticata.Translation: I completely forgot about it.
Ne can replace entire phrases (no matter how long) introduced by the preposition di meaning of, even if that phrase is very long. For example:
↓
When it has this meaning, ne can be used alone or in combination with the Italian indirect object pronouns, forming therefore some beautiful double pronouns:
2. ‘Ne’ as “of it” or “of them” with a quantity
We use ne to translate “of it” or “of them” in quantity phrases like “two of them” or “some of it” when the quantity phrase is the direct object of the sentence. In this use, ne is a “partitive pronoun.” For example:
Exactly what you’re ordering a kilo of depends on the context. For example, if you enter into an Italian fruttivendolo/fruttivendola meaning fruit seller and hear this sentence, someone may refer to un chilo di mele meaning a kilo of apples un chilo di pesche meaning a kilo of peaches or un chilo di pomodori meaning a kilo of tomatoes and so on.
A frequent use of ne as a partitive is to answer questions about quantity, those starting with interrogative words such as quanto meaning how much/how many.
- Quanta torta gradisci?Translation: How much cake would you like?
- Ne prendo una fetta piccola, grazie.Translation: I’d like a small slice of it, thanks.
This literally means that out of the whole cake, I would like a certain portion meaning a slice of it.
The partitive ne also is used alongside Italian indefinite pronouns expressing quantity, such as poco / poca / poche / pochi meaning a little of, tanto / tanta / tanti / tante meaning a lot of, nessuno / nessuna meaning none of, etc.
- Mi puoi prestare una matita, per favore?Translation: Can you please lend me a pencil?
- Sì, nessun problema, ne ho tante.Translation: Yes, no problem, I have many (of them).
Using partitive ‘ne’ in compound tenses
When we use ne as a partitive in a sentence with a compound tense, ne triggers the agreement, just like a direct object pronoun! This means that we need to do the agreement between the past participle and the noun ne replaces. Let me give you an example with the passato prossimo:
3. ‘Ne’ as “from here” or “from there”
Ne is used to mean “from here” or “from there” when used with certain verbs of motion. Ne can be used this way with pronominal verbs. Pronominal verbs are verbs that are conjugated much like reflexive verbs, but use a second pronoun (like ne) in addition to the reflexive pronoun when they are conjugated.
One of the most important cases of a verb that conjugates with reflexive pronouns + ne is andarsene meaning to leave from here/from this place.
With the verb andarsene, ne means “from here” or “from this place.”
Let’s look at the present indicative of andarsene. It follows the same conjugation patterns for other moods and tenses:
| reflexive pronoun | andarsene meaning to leave from here |
|---|---|
mi Translation: myself | (Io) me ne vado Translation: I leave (here) |
ti Translation: yourself | (Tu) te ne vai Translation: You leave (here). |
si Translation: himself, itself (m.) | (Lui) se ne va Translation: He/it leaves (here). |
si / Si Translation: herself, itself (f.), yourself (form.) | (Lei) se ne va. Translation: She/it leaves (here). |
ci Translation: ourselves | (Noi) ce ne andiamo |
vi Translation: yourselves | (Voi) ve ne andate |
si Translation: themselves | (Loro) se ne vanno |
I am sure you noticed that when combined with ne, reflexive pronouns change vowel:mi - ti - si - ci - vi → become → me - te - se - ce - ve
Here are some more example sentences with andarsene:
Ne can also be used to mean “from here” or “from there” with verbs of motion that do not require reflexive pronouns. For example: partire meaning to leave, venire meaning to come, and tornare meaning to come back , can all be used with ne. With these verbs, ne functions like an adverb of place, but you won’t need the reflexive pronoun like you do with andarsene.
To learn more, have a look at this list of Italian verbs that take ne!
What are some less common uses of “ne”
Let’s talk now about three of the less common uses of ne. You won’t see these as often, but if you know these, you’ll really have mastered this word!
ne as “from that situation”
neas “by that” or “by them”
neas “with that”
Let’s continue our journey to find out how else this small but powerful word can be used in Italian!
4. ‘Ne’ as in, “from that situation”
When used in certain contexts, ne can mean da questa/quella situazione meaning from this/that situation, much like it means da questo/quel luogo meaning from this/that place with others. For example:
5. ‘Ne’ as in, “by that thing/person”
In the passive voice, ne can sometimes mean da quella persona meaning by that person or da quella cosa meaning by that thing. For example:
6. ‘Ne’ as in, “with that thing”
Finally, ne can also be used for separation from an object (rather than just departure from a location), such as in the following example:
Where to put the pronoun ‘ne’?
The Italian pronoun ne most often goes before the verb. However, there are a few cases where it can go somewhere else:
Ne goes after an imperative verb, attached to the end:
Parliamone!Translation: Let’s talk about it!Ne can go before a modal verb or it can attach to the end of the infinitive that accompanies the modal:
modal verbinfinitive✅ Se ne vogliono andare domani mattina.Translation: They want to leave (from here) tomorrow morning.modal verbinfinitive✅ Vogliono andarsene domani mattina.Translation: They want to leave (from here) tomorrow morning.But if there is more than one pronoun (e.g. reflexive and ne), they either both come before the modal or both come after. You can’t do one of each!
modal verbinfinitive❌ Se vogliono andarne domani mattinaNe comes after a gerund and attaches to it:
Ricordandomene all’improvviso, ho scritto ad Anna per gli auguri di compleanno.Translation: Suddenly remembering about it, I wrote to Anna for birthday wishes.
👉 Did you see all those double pronouns? Check out our article on how to form double pronouns in Italian for a quick refresher!
To sum up!
The pronominal particle ne takes different meanings depending on the context, that is, both on the noun it replaces and the verb that introduces it.
Three of its most recurring meanings are:
about someone/something (topic)
some/any/none of it/them (partitive)
from here/from this place
Also, there are verbs like andarsene meaning to go away from here, called pronominal verbs, that to conjugate use a reflexive pronoun + ne.
More uses of ne:
from that situation
by that thing/person
with that thing
And, where do we place ne? Remember that it usually goes before the verb, but there are three cases when ne goes after the verb:
with the imperative (attached to it);
with modal verbs (it can either go before or after, and when it is placed after ne is also attached to the infinitive)
with the gerund (attached to it)
Ready to practice all the uses of ne? 💪 🧠 Click the link!
:quality(80)){kind=logo}
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))