HOW TO USE Molto Tanto Troppo Poco Tutto Ogni Qualche

Do you make mistakes with the agreement of words like molto and troppo? Do you have problems choosing between tutto and tanto?

Are you sometimes unsure about the correct forms of seemingly easy words like tutto, qualche and ogni?

On this page find how to use these little but important words Molto Tanto Troppo Poco Tutto Ogni Qualche

Molto – tanto – troppo – poco

	Meaning
molto, molta; molti, molte	much, a lot of; many
tanto, tanta; tanti, tante	much, so much; so many
troppo, troppa; troppi, troppe	too much; too many
poco, poca; pochi, poche	little; few

EXAMPLES (adjectives):

Lavorate molte ore?	Do you work for many hours?
I bambini mangiano troppo gelato.	Children eat too much ice cream.
Lui invita pochi amici.	He invites a few friends.

Words like molto and troppo can be adverbs or adjectives, depending on how they are used in a sentence.

molto HOW TO USE Molto Tanto Troppo Poco Tutto Ogni Qualche

Because adjectives must always agree in gender and number with the noun they qualify, while the endings of adverbs never change.

So you will be able to tell when molto, troppo and other words like these are adverbs and don’t need to agree in gender and number with the noun they qualify.

When molto, tanto, troppo, and poco modify an adjective or a verb (or other adverbs), they are adverbs.

EXAMPLES (Adverbs):

Non bevo mai molto la mattina	I never drink much in the morning.
Avete speso troppo!	You have spent too much!
Il clima inglese è davvero molto strano!	The English climate is truly very strange!
Questa radio è troppo piccola.	This radio is too small.

remember HOW TO USE Molto Tanto Troppo Poco Tutto Ogni Qualche

To help you remember this rule, think of it this way:
when it means ‘very’, molto doesn’t vary.

When words like molto and troppo modify (or replace) a noun, they are adjectives (or pronouns) and as such, they need to agree with that noun.

EXAMPLES (Adjectives):

Faccio molte passeggiate in campagna.	I take many walks in the countryside.
In centro c’è sempre molta gente	There are always many people in the centre.
Molti vanno al cinema la domenica	Many (people) go to the cinema on Sundays.
Ho preso troppo sole e mi sono scottata la schiena.	I caught too much sun and got my back sunburnt.
La frutta mi piace davvero e ne mangio sempre molta.	I really like fruit and I always eat lots (of it).
Non guardo più i film western, ne ho visti troppi da bambina	I don’t watch westerns anymore, I saw too many of them as a child.

Tutto, tutta; tutti, tutte (the whole; all, every)

When you use the adjective tutto:

in the singular, it means the whole;
when it is used in the plural, it means all, every.

The adjective tutto is followed by the definite article.

EXAMPLES:

Studi tutto il giorno?	Are you studying for the whole day?
Studio tutti i giorni.	I study every day.

**Ogni or Qualche? (Each, Every/Some, A Few)**

Ogni (Each, Every) is an invariable adjective and it is always followed by a singular noun

Qualche (Some, A few) is always followed by a singular noun, but the meaning of is always plural

Tutto and ogni are often used interchangeably

Ogni giorno -> tutti i giorni (every day)

Ogni mattina -> tutte le mattine (every morning)

EXAMPLES with Ogni:

Lavoriamo ogni giorno.	We work every day.
Ogni settimana gioco a tennis.	Every week I play tennis.

Qualche and “alcuni” are synonymous e indicating a small quantity.
You can also say “Qualche volta” meaning sometimes.

Qualche settimana (a few weeks)

Qualche giorno (a few days)

EXAMPLES with Qualche:

Lavoriamo solo qualche ora al giorno.	We only work for a few hours a day.
Qualche volta gioco a tennis con i miei amici.	Sometimes I play tennis with my friends

What’s next?

You might want to keep learning Italian online with these free resources:

How to use C ommon Italian Interjections and Exclamations