NOTES
(by DuoItalian)

Some of these pronouns can be confusing to a beginner, as they have multiple meanings in different situations.

  • nessuno (no one, nobody, anybody, none)
  • niente (no, nothing, anything)
  • che (what, who, which)
  • qualcuno (someone, somebody)

The Italian pronoun ciò can be particularly confusing. It is a masculine pronoun, only singular, and it indicates or replaces the noun of a thing, generally referred as a verb or a phrase, it can be both subject and complement.

It can be used when you have discussed something, so that this thing” or “that thing” is referred to something you know.

  • Tutto ciò è vero. (That‘s all true.)
  • Parlammo a lungo di ciò che gli era accaduto. (We talked a lot about what happened to him.)
  • Hai fatto ciò che ho detto? (Have you done what I told you?)

Notice the use of it with che in some examples? Ciò che means “that which”, but translates to “what” in these examples.

  • Vedo ciò che fai. (I see what you’re doing.) …. or literally (I see that which you are doing.)

VOCABULARY
(from Duolingo)
chewhat, who, which
altroother
qualcunosomeone, somebody
qualsiasiany
entrambeboth
ognunoeach (one)
tuttoall
nessunono one, nobody, anybody, none
nienteno, nothing, anything
nullanothing
qualcosasomething
alcunoany
quellothat
questothis
qualewhich
chiwho
ciòthat, it (formal)
cuiwhose (of which)
chiunqueanyone
quellithose
questithese
alcunisome

 

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