What is ‘ne’ in Italian and how do you use it?

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! (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?
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?
I bought some apples. Do you want one (of them)?
to mean “from here” or “from there”
Me ne vado.
I am leaving.
lit. 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(of), it means “about someone” or “about something.” For example:

Abbiamo parlato delle nostre vacanze.

We talked about our vacations.

↓

Ne abbiamo parlato.

We talked about them.

Here are some examples of conversations using ne with this meaning:

Example 1:

Ho mai parlato di Andrea, il mio amico dell’università?
Have I ever talked about Andrea, my friend from college?
Sì, ne hai parlato molte volte.
Yes, you talked about him many times.

Example 2:

Ti sei ricordata di contattare l’agenzia di viaggi?
Did you remember to contact the travel agency?
No, me ne sono completamente dimenticata.
I completely forgot about it.

Ne can replace entire phrases (no matter how long) introduced by the preposition di(of), even if that phrase is very long. For example:

Ho mai parlato del mio amico Andrea che vive a Roma e che fa l’insegnante d’inglese?

Have I ever talked about my friend Andrea who lives in Rome and who is an English teacher?

↓

Ne ho mai parlato?

Have I ever talked about him?

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:

Me ne hanno parlato bene.

I have heard good things about it.

lit. They told me well about it.

Gliene parlerai?

Will you tell him/her about it?

Important

This rule applies for all the meanings/uses of ne!

The pronoun ne not only replaces the noun/noun phrase but also the prepositions that introduce them!

Ti sei ricordato dell’appuntamento?
Did you remember about the meeting?
No, me ne sono dimenticato.
No, I forgot.

In this case, not only does ne replace appuntamento(meeting) but also the preposition di(of, about) that introduces the noun. In fact, without ne, the answer to the question would be:

No, mi sono dimenticato dell’appuntamento.
No, I forgot about the appointment.

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:

Ne prendo un chilo.

I take a kilo of it / of them.

Exactly what you’re ordering a kilo of depends on the context. For example, if you enter into an Italian fruttivendolo/fruttivendola(fruit seller) and hear this sentence, someone may refer to un chilo di mele(a kilo of apples) un chilo di pesche(a kilo of peaches) or un chilo di pomodori (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(how much/how many).

Quanta torta gradisci?
How much cake would you like?
Ne prendo una fetta piccola, grazie.
I’d like a small slice of it, thanks.

This literally means that out of the whole cake, I would like a certain portion(a slice) of it.

The partitive ne also is used alongside Italian indefinite pronouns expressing quantity, such as poco / poca / poche / pochi(a little of), tanto / tanta / tanti / tante(a lot of), nessuno / nessuna(none of), etc.

Mi puoi prestare una matita, per favore?
Can you please lend me a pencil?
Sì, nessun problema, ne ho tante.
Yes, no problem, I have many (of them).

Important

In English, the “of that” or “of it” is usually optional, and it’s fine to just give the quantity (e.g. “I’ll take a slice / a glass / a little bit / a lot / …).

However, in Italian, we always include the “of it / this / that /…” because expressions like una fetta(a slice), un bicchiere(a glass), un po’ (a little bit), molto(a lot) etc. cannot be on their own.

Ne is therefore required with those expressions to take the place of “of it/of this/of that.”

Important

Also, when it means “of it,” ne can be used alone or in combination with indirect object pronouns, forming double pronouns:

Me ne rimane solo un pezzo.

I only have one piece left (of it).

Ve ne porto due?

Shall I bring you two (of that)?

Non gliene ho comprato.

I didn’t buy any (of it) for 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:

Quante caramelle hai mangiato?

How many candies did you eat?

→ carmelle is feminine plural

past participle

Ne ho mangiate due.

I ate two (of them).

→ when we replace di caramelle with ne, the past participle is in its feminine plural form: mangiate.

Exception!

When the quantity is zero/none or one, the past participle will always be singular, even if the noun in the original question was plural. This is because the participle agrees with the number in the quantity word:

Quanti articoli hai letto?
How many articles did you read?
Non ne ho letto nessuno.
I didn’t read any.

Notice that, in Italian, double negation is required here: non…nessuno.

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(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(to leave from here)
mi myself	(Io) me ne vado I leave (here)
ti yourself	(Tu) te ne vai You leave (here).
si himself, itself (m.)	(Lui) se ne va He/it leaves (here).
si / Si herself, itself (f.), yourself (form.)	(Lei) se ne va. She/it leaves (here).
ci ourselves	(Noi) ce ne andiamo
vi yourselves	(Voi) ve ne andate
si 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:

Già te ne vai?

Are you leaving already (from here)?

Me ne vado a dormire.

I am going to bed.

lit. I am leaving from here to go to sleep.

Tip

To say, “Let’s go!” in Italian, you can simply use the imperative of andare: Andiamo! But you can also use the imperative of andarsene in the “we” form:
Andiamocene!
Let’s go away from here!
Be careful not to use just the present simple, since Ce ne andiamo, means you are announcing: “We are leaving.”.
Ne va di + something is an idiomatic expression and it means, “something is at stake”:
Ne va della mia salute!
My health is at stake!
Have a look at these other common Italian expressions that use ne to learn more!

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(to leave), venire(to come), and tornare(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.

Siete andati a casa? Sì, ne siamo appena usciti.

Did you go home? Yes, we just got out from there.

Non mi va andare in spiaggia perché ne vengo ora.

I don’t feel like going to the beach because I just came back from there.

La mattina che sono arrivata a Taranto, non sapevo che ne sarei ripartita la sera stessa.

The morning I arrived in Taranto, I did not know that I would leave from there the same evening.

To learn more, have a look at this list of Italian verbs that take ne!

Important

Another small word that in Italian can also work as an adverb of place is ci. Equally multifaceted, with verbs expressing motion, like andare(to go), ci means “to there.”

Come vai a casa?
How are you going home?
Ci vado in taxi.
I’m going (to) there by taxi.

In other words...

ci replaces a phrase introduced by the preposition a(to)
ne replaces a phrase introduced by the preposition da(from)

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(from this/that situation), much like it means da questo/quel luogo(from this/that place) with others. For example:

Non ne trattà nulla di buono.

Nothing good will come from that (situation).

Da questa situazione ne possiamo uscire facilmente.

We can easily get out of this (situation).

Ne avete avuto molti vantaggi.

You have had many benefits from that (situation).

5. ‘Ne’ as in, “by that thing/person”

In the passive voice, ne can sometimes mean da quella persona(by that person) or da quella cosa(by that thing). For example:

passive verb

Appena l’ha vista ne è stata conquistata.

As soon as she saw her, she was conquered by her.

passive verb

Quando ho visto la Gioconda, ne sono stato colpito.

When I saw the Mona Lisa, I was struck by it.

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:

Non ce ne vogliamo separare.

We don’t want to part with it.

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!
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.
They want to leave (from here) tomorrow morning.
modal verbinfinitive
✅ Vogliono andarsene domani mattina.
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 mattina
Ne comes after a gerund and attaches to it:
Ricordandomene all’improvviso, ho scritto ad Anna per gli auguri di compleanno.
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(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!

What is ‘ne’ in Italian and how do you use it?

Table of Contents

What are the three main uses of ‘ne’

1. ‘Ne’ as “the stuff we just talked about”

Important

2. ‘Ne’ as “of it” or “of them” with a quantity

Important

Important

Using partitive ‘ne’ in compound tenses

Exception!

3. ‘Ne’ as “from here” or “from there”

Tip

Important

What are some less common uses of “ne”

4. ‘Ne’ as in, “from that situation”

5. ‘Ne’ as in, “by that thing/person”

6. ‘Ne’ as in, “with that thing”

Where to put the pronoun ‘ne’?

To sum up!

Downloadable Resources

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What is ‘ne’ in Italian and how do you use it?

Table of Contents

What are the three main uses of ‘ne’

1. ‘Ne’ as “the stuff we just talked about”

Important

2. ‘Ne’ as “of it” or “of them” with a quantity

Important

Important

Using partitive ‘ne’ in compound tenses

Exception!

3. ‘Ne’ as “from here” or “from there”

Tip

Important

What are some less common uses of “ne”

4. ‘Ne’ as in, “from that situation”

5. ‘Ne’ as in, “by that thing/person”

6. ‘Ne’ as in, “with that thing”

Where to put the pronoun ‘ne’?

To sum up!

Downloadable Resources

To embark on your next language adventure, join Mango on social!

Ready to take the next step?

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